Marvelous Antique Rasp Decorated Wrought Iron Folk Art Snake two-toned horsehair 17 7/8" l x 3

17 7/8" l x 3 11/16" x 5/8"

in a nice period frame

and once I put this one next to something else I realized his raised hand seems to be subtly gesturing toward whatever he stands beside

and I'll be very glad to keep this one for myself

which I believe replaced an earlier one that was just a hair wider where it met the stone

Marvelous Antique Rasp Decorated Wrought Iron Folk Art Snake two-toned horsehair 17 7/8" l x 3I'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