Stealing or Rescuing?

This delightful drawing shows a country lad, aided and abetted by his loyal dog, making off with a bird’s nest full of tiny hatchlings. The parent bird flies overhead possibly in alarm but maybe with relief that the family is being moved to a safer location.

Drawn on laid paper in pen, ink and watercolour, it comes with the bonus of a second ink sketch on the reverse side showing two children in a landscape. This drawing has a small piece of clear tape over the boy’s hat which I’ve not attempted to remove.

Housed in a turned wood frame with an inner gilt rim (old chip to the right hand edge).