Absolutely fabulous antique French or Italian hand carved solid wood cherub or putti figure, a delightful 6 7/8" tall pocket watch or pendant display stand! This one could date to the 18th-19th century and appears to possibly have had a plinth or the hole is the base was more likely just to keep the wood block stead for the master carver to do his or her work. A lovely little cherubic figure lounging over the base and, if you look closely, you can see a serpent getting ready to strike below his left breast. The serpent's head visible but a portion of its body curving up into the hole. Fabulous.
Very good condition. A few flaws, most notable is that the lower portion of his left leg is missing and there is a glue repair to where the front wood panel was joined to the rest of the piece before carving (you can see the joint extending across the hollow). Another age/drying crack visible from the bottom but not from the sides. See pictures for all measurements.