I've had a couple of old wrought iron folk art snakes, made as iron worker's whimsies I believe, but this is I think the very best I've ever seen, and it seems to me likely the oldest too. Photos do no justice, but the details come the closest, showing the very very extensive and very intensive rasping of the iron used to give it scales; fantastic. And the underside shows how the iron was curled under to give volume to the body, making it almost like a tube. With a wonderful shape to the head too, with more rasping to give it eyes. Really quite an amazing piece of work, and with a a very snakelike slithering and tapering form to the body, just excellent.
16 7/8" l x 7/8" w and in very good antique condition, beautifully aged, with just the right amount of rusting to the iron. 19th c. I believe.
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