Unusual Ball (on Pedestal) in Cage Antique Black Painted Carved Whimsy carved whimsy rattle the silver-plate polished right up

the silver-plate polished right up

and a little bleeding around the red and black edges on the pips--all at a miniature scale (cards measure 1 1/4" x 1 3/4"

(The tail and the ears make me believe it is a bear

They've definitely been around and show a few small chips here and then

with the back sides just as great as the fronts

Unusual Ball (on Pedestal) in Cage Antique Black Painted Carved Whimsy carved whimsy rattle the silver-plate polished right upI've seen other whimsy "cages" with gothic sorts of spikes like this one, but I've never seen one where the ball sits on a pedestal inside of it, like a tee for a ball never to be hit! I believe this one likely dates to the late 19th early 20th c., and has definitely been knocked around a bit, with a few dings and paint loss around the sides, a small chip to one side of the "pedestal", and a little loss to what was surely once a sharp point at the