Lot #19: Ken Arensbak Troll 1970s Vintage Folk Art Creature Nature Art Weird

Possibly the freakiest thing I have ever seen, this is an 8" troll made in the 1970s by 5 Arts Studio in Cosby TN, by artist Ken Arensbak. Knud "Ken" Arensbak (1923–1997) was a Danish-born lithographer and artist who, along with his wife Neta, is best known for making fanciful handcrafted figures of trolls in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, United States. The trolls are made from tree trunk bases that are covered in natural fibre with jute moustaches and eyebrows. All are decorated with nuts and seeds, or small ornaments which denote their job or passion. According to the informational cards packaged with them, the "age" of an Arensbak troll is determined by multiplying its height — ranging in size from 4" to 52" tall — by ten; thus, a 12" troll is said to be 120 years old. Pickup category timeslot {A}