Wonderful Welded Wire Insect (with Spiral Tongue!) abandoned mansion 19 7/8” l x 3

19 7/8” l x 3 3/4” wide at butt of wood handle x 1 1/4” d

such that the silhouette of what are surely meant to be feathers on a Native American figure also could be read as bunny ears

with fantastic

but a few inches remain visible

a pencil written message from a S

Wonderful Welded Wire Insect (with Spiral Tongue!) abandoned mansion 19 7/8” l x 3At first I thought perhaps this was meant to be a cicada, but now I think maybe a long tongued fly; really, that long spiral out front is like the rolled tongue of a butterfly, or that of a salamander! Whatever the case, quite a wonderful bug it is, I think, composed of what looks to me a combination of iron, steel and copper wire creatively and dexterously welded together, with a lovely delicacy that comes especially from the treatment of the wings,