When I first discovered “ramp walkers” I thought they were the most charming and unexpected looking little things - and I still do! They were a folk toy made in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s, and if you place them on a surface at a slight incline they will walk themselves down it, often with significant speed! What I like most about them is that they were made to represent a variety of animals and people too, (I’ve had a parrot, and a nurse, and a pig…) but always with a very particular look and a definite homeliness that makes them very endearing—and  of course I’ve come to feel the more wounded and distinctive the better. This one I am pretty certain is meant to be a dog, brown with white painted spots and black snout, and he’s definitely walked many ramps, with a repaired foot that makes one leg a bit longer than the other so that he stands a bit lopsided—all the more lovable for it I think.

4 1/4” x 1 3/4” wide and d. Wounded with a repaired foot but stable and pretty sturdy, with a nice warm patina to the wood body and creamy white paint.