Decoy-Dux | email info@decoy-dux.com | phone: 865.458.6186 | site terms & conditions - contact me - sitemap
Welcome to Decoy-Dux, specializing in quality representative antique, vintage and contemporary duck, goose and shorebird decoys and carvings, as well as miniatures, books, paintings and other related collectibles.
M381: Early Miniature Massachusetts Feeding Willet
Miniature feeding willet or yellowlegs, circa 2nd quarter, 20th century. The carving bears a very close resemblance to a feeding willet by Tom Wilson (1863-1940), Ipswich, Massachusetts, pictured on page 21 of "Massachusetts Masters" published by the Ward Museum. This carving has raised and extended wingtips, carved wing outlines, an open bill and small taxidermy glass eyes. The legs are multiple strands of twisted wire. It has apparently been near a fire that somewhat damaged and discolored the paint, making it difficult to tell its true age. SOLD
D0951: Rare Stephan Badlam Oldsquaw Decoy, Circa 1875
Rare Stephan Badlam (1822-1892) oldsquaw decoy, circa 1875. Badlam, from Dorchester, Massachusetts, came from a family of Boston cabinetmakers. The tack-eyed decoy with carved nostrils and mandible is in original paint with moderate flaking and wear. There are several small spots of touchup on the neck aa well as some old filler on the underside from before the decoy was varnished. The decoy is darkened slightly by an old coat of varnish and is branded "S.B." on the underside where an inlet lead weight is held in place by two hand-wrought nails. It measures 11" in length. Badlam's decoys were unknown to collectors until a rig of seven were featured in Richard Bourne's July 1987 auction. This decoy was Lot No. 94, selling for $3100.00. The consignor's father had purchased them for his own hunting rig from Elizabeth Nichols, Badlam's great niece, in 1948. Jackson Parker, reporting on the auction, wrote that the Badlam decoys raised questions of who made them and when. All bore the block "S.B." brand, similar to one appearing on a table from the Badlam workshop, but were made with differences in form and finish, leading collectors to question whether they were made by the same carver over a period of time or by different carvers from the workshop. Regardless, they will be referred to as Badlam decoys until evidence to the contrary emerges. One of these decoys was pictured on the 1999 Massachusetts Waterfowl Stamp. SOLD
D0962: Robert Lange Wood Pigeon Decoy, Circa 1890s
Very nice wood pigeon decoy by Robert Lange, Yorkshire, UK, circa 1890s. Lange's decoys were limited in production and are some of the finest early decoys the UK has to offer. This example is his slick-sided model with no wing or shoulder carving. Exhibiting an excellent patina, it is in strong original paint showing only minor wear with mottled breast, neatly scalloped neck patches and fluid but precisely applied wing markings. A solid-bodied decoy with high quality glass eyes, it measures 12" in length and is roughly 3" thick. There is a chip missing on the tail, and the bill is a professional replacement. Stand included. SOLD
Price: $795.00
D0958: Grainger McKoy (Sumter, S.C.) Canvasback Drake Decoy, Dated 1967
Hollow canvasback drake decoy with painted eyes by noted carver and sculptor Grainger McKoy, Sumter, South Carolina, signed and dated. McKoy is recognized as one of America's foremost wildlife sculptors. He has been honored with exhibitions at major museums an galleries and his work is included in public and private collections throughout the country. This decoys an early work by McKoy, carved while he was a student at Clemson University in 1967. It is made from three laminations, measuring 13 1/2" in length, 6" in width and standing 7 1/2" tall at the head. It is in excellent structural condition with the wing tips are carved in outline. The original paint is highly detailed, showing only minor wear. Also included is a copy of "The Sculpture of Grainger McKoy" (James Kilgo, 1999, 64 pages, softcover) signed by McKoy. SOLD
D0955: Swimming Canada Goose Decoy, Probably New Jersey
Very nice hollow-bodied swimming Canada goose decoy by an unknown carver from the mid-Atlantic region (probably New Jersey), circa 2nd quarter, 20th century. The body of the decoy was roughed out and finished by spoke shave with the facets of the cuts remaining visible. The decoy appears to have seen little use, but there is separation at the seam of the body and bottom board. It is in original paint other than for touchup at the around the neck seat. Measuring 27" in length, it is a rigmate to D0954 listed and available separately. SOLD
D0954: Unknown Mid-Atlantic Region Preening Canada Goose, Circa 2Q, 20C
Very nice hollow-bodied preening Canada goose decoy by an unknown carver from the mid-Atlantic region (probably New Jersey), circa 2nd quarter, 20th century. The body of the decoy was roughed out and finished by spoke shave with the facets of the cuts remaining visible. The decoy appears to have seen little use, but there is separation at the seam of the body and bottom board. It is in original paint other than for touchup at the junction of the head and body. Measuring 21" in length, it is a rigmate to D0955 listed and available separately. SOLD
M379: Exceptional Great Horned Owl Decoy, Circa Mid-20th Century
Exceptional great horned owl decoy by an unknown carver, circa mid-20th century. Probably influenced by Herter's popular owls of the mid-1940s to mid-1950s but made from cedar rather than balsa, this fine example has deeply carved wing and shoulder outlines, a claw beak, leather ears and glass eyes. A large decoy (20" high, 9" wide, 6" deep and weighing 7 pounds) showing only light wear, it is in original feather paint with no repairs or touch up. There is a mounting plate attached under the legs as this decoy was made for the field, not the mantle. There is a sticker on the back of the decoy attesting to the inclusion of this fine carving in an auction conducted by Richard Oliver in the 1980s or early 1990s. Owl decoys were used by hunters to bring crows, their mortal enemies, into shotgun range. Stand included. SOLD
D0957: Joseph Zender Mallard Hen Decoy, Chicago, Illinois, Circa 1930s
Rare and excellent solid-bodied tack-eye mallard hen by Joseph A. Zender (1888-1960), Chicago, Illinois, circa 1930s. Zender, an avid hunter and member of the Peru Gun Club, carved approximately 200 decoys over a 15-year span beginning in 1929. Round-bodied and a bit chunky, his rather distinctive decoys were painted in elaborate feather patterns. This decoy, showing light to moderate wear with some paint rubs and flaking and measuring 14.5" in length, has its head turned nearly 45 degrees to the right and is in highly detailed original paint with light craquelure and two very short and tight shrinkage cracks in the back of the head and neck. Neither crack goes completely through. The carving probably has a faint protective coating of shellac, but if so, it is not visible to the eye. The original weight is still in place. The decoy, possibly made for use on the rougher water of Lake Michigan, also has a poured lead weight that is original to it placed in its bottom for additional ballast. The last photo shows this decoy along with a drake by Zender, not included. See D0956 available separately. SOLD
