Unidentified Hand-Carved Wood Duck (Decoy?)

Here is an item of particular interest as it was just recently uncovered wrapped in terry-cloth and wedged inbetween the floor joists in a previously sealed-off attic within my family's farmhouse which dates back to the early 1800s, please take into consideration that nobody in my family recollects ever seeing this and the farm has been in the family since the 1930s so one could assume that this possibly dates back to a time before the 1930s. I've spent a good hour or so trying to research this but have not come up with anything definitive and I am not even so sure that it is a decoy at all as it is very heavy and completely solid, there are no markings that I can see.

 

A carved duck but not a decoy. A display/art item. No reason it couldn't be as old as you are assuming. Rather nicely done in fact.

A duck decoy, by definition, is made to resemble a real duck, to be used to attract waterfowl when hunting. No flying duck would look down on this & say "oh, boy, it is safe to land down there because I see others of my kind". A floating decoy normally has a keel with stringed weights so they don't float away. Most hunters use multiple decoys at a time to simulate a flock. Decoys are usually fairly light weight as carrying them to & fro while hunting can become a real chore with heavy decoys.

 

"No flying duck would look down on this & say "oh, boy, it is safe to land down there because I see others of my kind" LMAO! Good point.

 

The resemblance is uncanny I do believe you hit the nail on the head there sir!