Rocking Horse with Yellow Halter

Copied Unidentified, Rocking Horse with Yellow Halter, ca. 1900, carved and painted wood, leather, glass, metal, and straw, 24 1229 3414 58 in. (62.275.637.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.89
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Artwork Details

Title
Rocking Horse with Yellow Halter
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1900
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
24 1229 3414 58 in. (62.275.637.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums Description
carved and painted wood, leather, glass, metal, and straw
Classifications
Keywords
  • Animal — horse
Object Number
1986.65.89

Artwork Description

Rocking horses have been around for centuries, but they took the form we recognize in the early nineteenth century. The earliest ones were hand-carved with leather saddles and reigns, real hair manes and tails, and metal stirrups. After the Civil War, many companies mass-produced wooden horses with new “rocking” mechanisms, which stopped the toy from moving across the room. Demand fell for rocking horses by the mid-twentieth century, but they have recently enjoyed a revival in interest.