Images(4)

Loon Decoy

Date20th century

Maker Byron E. Bruffee

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Middleboro

MediumCarved and painted wood, glass

Credit LineBequest of Dr. Francis Blaise-Benedict Curcio

Object number2024.702.1

DescriptionDecoy sculture carved and painted to portray a loon with white spots against a black back. The breast is painted white and there are two additional white markings on each side of the neck.
Label TextMassachusetts has a long history of decoy carving that likely began with the earliest immigrants to the commonwealth but that vastly grew following a 1727 law that outlawed the use of live decoys for hunting waterfowl.

Regionally, Massachusetts is divided into 4 areas of carving with this loon decoy representing the South Shore area between Boston and Cape Cod. Byron E. Bruffee, spent most of his life living and carving in this region and left behind, not only a sizeable number of his work, but also a legacy of carving that his son, Daniel Bruffee continues to this day.
MarkingsThe underside has an impression of the maker's name "Byron E. Bruffee"