Featured Mystery Carving - Portion of Totem? - Age/Origin Unknown

Thanks for the suggestion. Sometime ago I asked a man who sells various types of wood to wood carvers.... He certainly didn't study it closely but suggested it was popular..... My experience with poplar is that it's quite light weight and this is very heavy so I didn't give too much creedence to his opinion. Now that I think of it, I think my neighbor is a botanist never thought of asking him. Thanks again! If I have any luck I'll let everybody know.

 

Yes it is.
Where I live, the south of the Netherlands, clogs are made of poplar because it is lightweight.

 

A few more observations -
The ring structure visible on the head indicates a species grown in a northern climate, and not a tropical type of wood.
https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/tree-rings-and-climate

It looks like the head was made from a section of a small tree trunk (or large branch), with evidence of a small side branch having been lost earlier in its growth.

The top of the head shows straight hand saw kerfs, and the cut was made before the "hair" was painted on, evidence of it being original work. From your photos, I cannot see specific tool marks on the neck, and no obvious signs of other types of tools. The surface is quite well finished. Adze or chisel marks might have been more indicative of an "aboriginal" origin.

The nail holes visible on the back suggest there may have been a flat board nailed to the head at some point, possibly as part of a display technique.

 

From that source:

"Tropical trees grow year-round, and so they do not have the alternating dark and light band pattern of tree rings."

I did not know that. Thanks @2manybooks!

 

Wow! That was really interesting. I did not know any of that so thank you very much. One other thing I noticed when examining this piece closely.... Much of the paint obviously has worn off over the years but scarcely visible in the photo there was / is a painted symbol that to my mind looks like a stylized cloud. Don't know if that means anything to any viewer but wanted to mention. Thanks again for the thoughtful and informative response.