Inside Decoys from Shelburne Museum

Black Duck, 1952-192.46; 27.FD4-16-B


This black duck is by Albert Laing, and thought to have been repainted by Charles "Shang" Wheeler. A pencil inscription "Laing" and  labels and inscriptions related to various Shelburne Museum numbering systems are evident on the underside. 

Though the body was made in a manner consistent with what is typically associated with Laing, the fact that the duck's neck is carved into the upper portion of the body rather than being part of the piece of wood that forms the head is unusual. The head is secured to the upper block that makes up the body with a threaded flat headed slotted fastener and a pair of cut nails as well as an adhesive. Given the radio-density of the adhesive, it likely contains lead. Cut nails and the same adhesive secure the joint between the two halves of the body. Four holes, plugged with wood pegs, are seen on the underside, and most likely are a result of the lead weight being moved. A pear-shaped lead weight is attached to the underside on the front half with two flat headed, slotted screws. A leather loop is held at the front of the underside with an oval headed, slotted brass screw.

What appears to be seams or awl marks on each side of the back near the neck may suggest that repairs have been made in these areas. Given that these areas appear dense in the radiographs and CT suggests these areas are filled with a putty perhaps containing a radio-dense material like lead white as a bulking agent. 

In the coronal view CT, one can get a better view of the shape of the hollow within the body. Tool marks visible on the upper and lower surfaces suggest that a center bit was used in a drill to hollow out each side of the body. In looking at the edges of the hollow, it is interesting to note how smooth those sides are in comparison to the edges of the hollow within the Black Duck decoy made by Benjamin Holmes that was imaged with CT for this study.

Glass eyes are embedded on either side of the head. The black glass appears to be mounted within a collar or bezel attached to a tapered, threaded shank.

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