Details
Description
This is a lovely antique handmade and handpainted toy. It features an acrobatic clown manually set upon two parallel wooden …
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This is a lovely antique handmade and handpainted toy. It features an acrobatic clown manually set upon two parallel wooden acrobat bars. The clown is tipped by hand in order to rock or swing to a full 360 degrees vertically upon the upper bars. It is delightful to watch it spin. I appreciate the thickness of this antique acrobat, as compared to later string or lever models, which may have been constructed of a less lustrous, flat wood.
The piece is likely constricted of a thin, beech-type light wood. It would have been constructed in a wood-making factory. As with most early wooden toys, the origins of the Acrobat Toy and other animated toys are not fully known. There is some evidence that it may have been produced first in the Far East centuries ago. Many variations of this toy have survived from farm animals to human figures. By the early 19th Century, all across Europe and the United States, the most popular of these animated toys was the Acrobat.
Dimensions:
Height:
5 in. (bar height)
7 in. (bar plus acrobat height)
Width:
2 in. (top parallel bars width)
2.4 in. (bottom parallel bars width)
Length:
7 in. (bar length)
6 in. (acrobat length)
11 in. (bar length plus acrobat length, when acrobat is placed on the edge of the bar)
(For shipping purposes, each piece would be packed separately within one box, doubling the width and depth).
The bottom is stamped “Made in Germany (East).”
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- Dimensions
- 11ʺW × 4ʺD × 5ʺH
- Period
- Early 20th Century
- Country of Origin
- Lithuania
- Item Type
- Vintage, Antique or Pre-owned
- Materials
- Lacquer
- Wood
- Condition
- Good Condition, Original Condition Unaltered, Some Imperfections
- Color
- Tan
- Condition Notes
- This toy is in excellent shape for its age. This is a delicate toy. The base is sturdy, but as … moreThis toy is in excellent shape for its age. This is a delicate toy. The base is sturdy, but as the upper bars are not designed with the same cross bars as the lower, they are naturally more flimsy. With the acrobat placed properly, perched upon one end of the top bars, this provides more stability to the base (as it also serves as a cross bar). There are some scratches on the paint at the top of the red hat, and what appears to he a small glue mark on the back base of the hat on the left side only (though this could also have been from a sticker). There is some paint wear at the navy blue end of the acrobat’s ‘toes.’ There appears to be a nick under a bubble on the lower right side of the leg. There is a blue paint dot on the lower right side of the shirt. The wooden pieces of the arms, the metal bar, and the arm pieces overall are in tact. These are strong. The head is connected well (again, given the toy’s age), and it is also designed to be able to twist. There is some minor gloss wear on the top of the legs, from a worn down top coat. I believe the minor paint wear can be retouched very well and easily by a professional, if improvements are desired. The toy functions well, is fun to play with, and is a great decorative piece. less
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