Figural Nutcracker

This nutcracker employs several artistic techniques, including stylized carving and detailed incised drawing. The sculpted faces are suggestive of those from the Bena Lulua tribe of central Africa (American Primitive, p. 254), while the drawings that run along the handles, rendering a bird, trees and leaves with precision and artistry, evoke Pennsylvania German traditions. Figural Nutcracker also displays elements of whimsy as the small, reclining face on the end of the handle reads as a baby, and the movement of the nutcracker replicates a baby being rocked in a cradle.