Antique/Vintage Carousel Horse - Please help identifying!

Good afternoon all,

We have this beautiful solid wood carousel horse that we are looking for information about. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

Size? Is there a hole in front of the saddle? If he's legit, he's not from a FULL sized carousel.....What are you basing the "antique" status on....? He/it looks like he might have been either re-painted or he might not be that old....please wait for others to chime in.

 

There are two holes in the bottom (and the hole that the pole is in) with no hole in the top. Admittedly, I base the "vintage" part on that it was very old when my sister bought it at an antique sale in Southern Ontario approx 15 years ago and it has sat untouched since then. The tail is original (horsehair) as well (as far as I know). It has a fair amount of cracks here and there from drying out.

 

It appears to have no wear at all, even on the saddle area.

 

He's probably just under 5' tall

 

In photo 2, the carving on the 3 rectangular cartouches/crests is not as precise as would be expected for an old item. The stain or paint is very consistent, and not worn; but it is applied in such a way as to give an impression of age; with the dark-brown consistently applied in all areas near raised carving. This is likely intended to give the impression of age, because such areas would accumulate dirt over time, in an old piece. But this is not dirt, but the stain or paint.
And the raised areas, in an old piece, would show wear. I don't see any signs of actual wear.
And the overall brownish color is not anything I recall from books on vintage carousel horses; and there are such books available; some people might advocate consulting such books before making an investment in a carousel horse- real vintage ones can be very expensive; and one would not expect a smart dealer to have overlooked that if the item was vintage; and it would have been priced appropriately if it was vintage. Carousel horses are well-enough known that one would not expect to come across a genuine old one at a bargain price.
I'm afraid I'd vote for it being a new reproduction, décor item, not an actual old carousel horse; sorry.

 

Very true. Besides the cracks and bumps it looks like it was almost never used really; it could be very old new paint. Like I said, I know very little about it and need all the info I can find

 

Thank you very much. This info is very helpful!

 

These are not uncommon imports. Originally from India. Likely now from China. Lots of decorative "Wow!" but not old.

Debora

 

You might try contacting these folks for an opinion --
https://www.carrouselmuseum.org/research.html
-- but a response from them might take even longer than their site suggests, what with delays and short-staffing due to Covid. Authoritatively knowledgeable bunch, though.

 

Forensic details! https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Carousel--Horses

 

the eye shape....cracking wood, painting and carving , all point to newer import.........or if not newer ....still import....imo

 

maybe it was a rocking horse.........

 

What a great page!!!!!!!!

 

the rocking horse looks right!