Avery & Dash Collections

American Carved & Polychrome Wood Carousel Horse-“Roy” County Fair Style Circa 1890-1915 mounted on display stand.

Antique American folk art carved wood carousel horse dating to late 19th, early 20th century (circa 1890-1915). This particular horse is a jumper who is poised to gallup with all four legs extended.

The name Roy, is painted in a cartouche on the neck of one side.

The style carving and polychrome decoration are consistent with American country fair-style carousel work, with characteristics pointing toward makers in the Trafton of C.W. Parker of Kansas or the Herschel- Spillman Co. of upstate New York. The horse is presented on a later black stand with brass pole and finial.

Hand-carved from laminated hardwood in the tradition of the great American carousel workshops, the horse is richly decorated in original polychrome paint that has developed a beautiful aged patina over more than a century of life. The body is rendered in warm ochre and amber, with boldly articulated carved ornament across the blanket and haunches — scrolling acanthus leaves, striated wave patterns, and floral medallions — all picked out in red, navy blue, and gilt. The carved mane flows dramatically back along the neck in crisp, undulating waves, rendered in cream and grey. A carved and painted saddle in deep red sits on the back, and the hooves are finished in black.

Genuine wear and old paint loss — particularly across the barrel and haunches where riders’ legs would have rested — speak authentically to a working life on a traveling carousel. This is not a reproduction: every crack, every layer of accumulated paint, every nick and abrasion is a record of decades of use and joy.

6ft long by 4ft tall

$9500.00