Eider Hen
Penobscot Bay, ME, c. 1920
17 1/4 in. long

This bold carving features a breast-preening head with fine bill detail. It measures over seventeen inches long, eight inches tall, and over eight inches wide. The two-piece construction features a prodigious six-by-two-inch inletted head inlay. The bottom displays an anchor line ring fastened with an old fence staple.

The few grand eider and scoter decoys from Maine to have survived the harsh hunting conditions are a cornerstone of the New England decoy cannon. In "American Bird Decoys," Mackey captioned a related "American or Common Eider hen from Down East, that fulfills every requirement for a decoy and has strong esthetic appeal as folk art."

This bold seaduck decoy is among the finest Down East eider hens to have surfaced.
Original paint with even gunning wear.

Provenance: Ross Levett Collection, acquired in the 1970s
Dan Slocum Collection, Camden Maine, acquired from the above
Private Collection

Literature: Christie's, "The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller," New York, NY, May 10, 2018, lot 1061, related decoy illustrated.William J. Mackey Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, p. 243, related decoy illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, front dust-jacket cover, related drake illustrated.