Fancy 19th Century Carved Double Ball in Cage Whimsy (Presumed Weaving Shuttle) in Original Polychrome #2 wooden nutcracker and being a couple

and being a couple

Marvelous folky face

and perfectly captured in 3/4 view so as highlight the distinguishing white stripe running down its snout and the tuft of white on its chest

and the third her father with wonderful little dog Spudy

Fancy 19th Century Carved Double Ball in Cage Whimsy (Presumed Weaving Shuttle) in Original Polychrome #2 wooden nutcracker and being a coupleGoogle image searches can be useful, even if much of the time what they turn up is irrelevant or just wrong! In this case I have found a couple of carvings similar to this one (nobs at the end, pinched center, "balls in cages" at either side" described as 19th century weaving shuttles, which makes very good sense the perfect shape and size to wrap thread yarn around and run across a loom. (Sewing and weaving tools are really among the richest terrains