Carved and Polychromed Giraffe Pull-Toy | Circa 1850-80

CARVED AND POLYCHROMED WOOD GIRAFFE PULL TOY
Probably Pennsylvania, circa 1850-80

36 5/8" H x 10 1/4" D x 12 1/2" W

A rare American folk art pull-toy in the stylized form of a giraffe, the figure is beautifully hand-carved in an austere manner that intentionally flaunts proportion and scale. The carver approaches the exotic animal with a sense of interpretive intuition rather than any applying any technical scales to the creature. In this, the animal becomes almost a thing of dreams, a character from another realm, this cuddly figure perhaps found only in storybooks: a sentiment fully in-line with its objective as a source of joy and food for the imagination of small children. The surface ignores true representation of color and is instead painted in a warm reddish-brown ground with black pitch spots. The body is raised on simple wooden fore-aft axles with four spinning wheels affixed to the stretcher with tapered wooden pins.

The abstracted form reflect a distinctly mid-19th century whimsy together with the honest and uncomplicated craftsmanship of rural Pennsylvania makers. A small string harness with tin bells and hand-blown glass beads encircles the body, likely a later addition but evocative of early play traditions.

A nearly identical example was sold at Sotheby's, New York (A New Dimension of Tradition: Important American Folk Art, Proceeds of the Sale to Benefit a New Folk Art Initiative at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, January 25 2020, lot 1430) where it was acquired for $ 10,625. That example was in somewhat rougher condition. A very similar giraffe pull-toy is illustrated in Bishop's work on American Folk Sculpture (see below).

The gallery has another nearly identical example of this pull-toy that was surfaced to us shortly after making this example available to the public. While the other example does not have the early bead necklace, it is largely spot-on identical in construction and dimension, suggesting these were made production-style in unknown numbers by a maker. Repairs to the back legs show the same weak point as this example has and that inherent fragility is likely why so few exist today.

Literature:

Robert Bishop, American Folk Sculpture, E. P. Dutton & Co., 1974, p. 352, pl. 661 (similar giraffe pull-toy illustrated)
The Pennsylvania German Collection, Beatrice B. Garvan, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1982 p. 86, pl. 6

Condition: At least two wheels are replaced along with the pins. Repairs to all legs with associated inpainting, back right leg (when giraffe is facing left) with restoration at the hip along with associated inpainting, back left leg with a repaired crack on the inside of the leg. Seam at the neck where the two boards come together. Two wheel axles were re-doweled. The iron bells and beads are probably an addition, though close in period to the giraffe - a portion of the string is replaced. Stable and ready to place.

ref. 508PPP17S