Whirligig: Man on Horse

DateProbably 1900-1925

MediumPine, iron, and paint

DimensionsOverall: 9 1/2 x 14 3/8 x 3 1/4in. (24.1 x 36.5 x 8.3cm)

Credit LineBequest of Effie Thixton Arthur

Object number1979.700.4

DescriptionWhirligig figure of a man with paddle arms that pivot at shoulder; he is astride a horse. Arms are fastened through body by clinched wire. Figure wears yellow pants, black pull-on boots, black shirt, yellow broad-brimmed hat, has black hair. Nose & ears carved separately and inserted. Paddles are dark red. Horse is yellow with red saddle and black bridle painted onto body. Black mane and black streaks over yellow tail, black hooves. Feet in walking stance. Small pegs at front and back of saddle (into horse's back) apparently were intended as saddle details. Horse's four feet fit into crudely shaped holes in a primary base, which is tacked onto a secondary (apparently not original) secondar base.
Label TextThis comical wide-eyed cowboy on a swaybacked horse is an example of the homemade toys that were created to entertain children and adults in many parts of America throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. "Entertain" is the key word: such toys provided little opportunity for physical interaction with children, the aim being for the wind to activate the whirligig and for on-lookers to observe its antics.

ProvenanceBequest of Effie Thixton Arthur, Wilton, Conn.

Exhibition(s)