Lot 909A: FABULOUS CARVED ARMORED PARKER CAROUSEL FIGURE

FABULOUS CARVED ARMORED PARKER CAROUSEL FIGURE. Colors are vibrant, playful and spirited with red, green, yellow, blue, purple, white, black, gold and orange. This jumper horse has a cropped or roached mane with glass jewels embracing the outer rim and the horse's face on the romance side or show side. The trapping or caparison is highly detailed. The romance side has fish scale armor with every scale in a contrasting different color trimmed yet again in another color. As would be expected for a horse in armor he has a spear on the front of his head with two rings. There are elegant yet playful scrolls embracing the horses' face armor and around his body below his neck. There is a round red shield with a gold painted crown in the center on the front of the horse below his head. The horses' teeth and tongue, like everything else here, is very well detailed and pronounced with white teeth and a slightly lolling red tongue. The saddle blanket is so intricately detailed it is hard to put into words. Again it has the fish scale style design with a patriotic star surrounded by a green, yellow and red border finishing off with a free flowing fringe. The saddle itself has great shape and color with deeply carved tobacco leaves on the cantle. There is a decorative medallion on the romance side with flying birds around the outer edge with a Victorian woman in a wild plume feather hat in the center. Underneath all the colorful armor and the saddle blanket you have a striking statuesque black horse with a highly carved white tail. This carousel horse dates from the early 1900's and judging form his size and detailed beauty he was a front row horse. It is mounted underneath by the original iron pole on to a modern wood base. The horse has Parker's signature metal horseshoes on all four feet which read CW PARKER LEAVENWORTH KAN. Charles Wallace Parker was born in Griggsville, Illinois in 1864. By 1905 Parker had four full sized carnivals on tour throughout the country. The Parker "Carry-Us-Alls" (his play on words for carousel) continued to be the most important part of the amusement business. He built hundreds of small traveling carousels that were used by carnivals This wonderfully detailed carousel figure is in very old park paint and most appealing. SIZE: Approximately 3" h x 6'6" l. CONDITION: Various splits and cracks in the body and some minor losses. In general it is in very good condition. 9-71523