Allegorical Rooster Drama with Statue, Strange Antique Oil on Canvas, Framed boy shaving Carved from one block of

Carved from one block of wood

They come from a scarce 1808-10 work "Conchyliogie systématique et classification méthodique des coquilles

which are steel I believe and painted the same gold

a few slices of "betal nut" are wrapped in betel leaf

which shows a bit more like black in photos

Allegorical Rooster Drama with Statue, Strange Antique Oil on Canvas, Framed boy shaving Carved from one block ofA strange one! There seems to be a long history of rooster paintings, cock fight paintings included, though I have not been able to put a finger on the precise origins of the genre. This one oil on unstretched canvas, framed under glass I found in Maine, and believe dates to the late 19th early 20th c., with the frame perhaps original to it. And it certainly seems allegorical to me, though I'm not sure I understand all of its implications! The pair of