Bamboo Root Ducks

Bamboo root is the dense, knotted base of the bamboo plant, usually discarded once the culm has been harvested. In Bali it gets carved into ducks. The grain runs tight and irregular, dark where the root twisted underground and paler higher up, so every duck comes out slightly different in shape and colouring.

Some are finished bare, sanded but unvarnished, so the wood does the work. Others are hand-painted, and over the years the range has grown into a proper cast: a pirate on a peg leg, a punk in a red mohawk, a beekeeper under a net veil, a bride and groom, and a full set dressed for Christmas. Sizes run from a small duckling up to a 45cm bird on turned legs with carved lace-up boots.