I have not amped up the color on this guy; the blue of his shirt really is Yves Klein blue--like pure powdered pigment--and the green of his pants really does almost glow! In the course of discovering his great nimbleness as I was photographing him, and perhaps especially through zooming in on his face with those big blue eyes and loose red lips, I have come to think of him as a jig doll version of Mick Jagger (Mick Jigger!), though I think he wears his old age even better! Really a wonderful piece I think, found in New Hampshire.
Typically these sorts of figures--called limberjacks, jig dolls, slapjack, limberjims, dancin' dans, etc--would attach at their back to a wooden rod, used to hold them up and make them dance, a performance that was as much about the sound produced by their feet as the movement of their limbs. This guy though has strings still attached to head, waist and hands, so would have worked more like a marionette--though his long flat feet seem definitely designed for tapping.
Good antique condition, structurally super sound, and to my eye just perfectly aged and worn. 9 3/4" tall x 3 3/4" wide x 7/8" deep. He sits up on his own and would do so perfectly on a shelf, or he could be easily hung by the old metal loop at the top of his head.
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