Scandinavian Antiques Animal Sculptures

A very stylish and typically Scandinavian Swedish mid-century hand painted graduated set of carved wooden horse figures by Nils Olsson and dating from around 1950. The figures are each similarly carved standing from a very miniature example to a very large horse. They are simply carved with shaped heads and raised ears and each is hand painted with a patterned saddle and harness and simple facial styling, The saddle is painted with a stylized floral design in tones of blue, black, orange and yellow against an off-white ground with with green/blue edging with the straps similarly decorated and painted against a bright orange ground. The miniature variant has a slightly different coloring and patterning due to the limitations of its size but is an original part of the set. The second largest horse is painted with initials G.E.B. and the three mid-sized horses all retain their original makers paper labels for Nils Olsson. The miniature horse measures...

Stunning and unique pair of matching horse sculptures. With a combined experience of almost 30 years in the antiques trade, we were thrilled to once again find beautifully hand-crafted and decorative antiques that we had never seen before. From the density and the weight we can see and feel that these highly decorative horse sculptures are made of a tropical hardwood. Like, for example, with antique mirror frames or church sculptures these horses too were first covered with a mixture of chalk and glue so that the paint would hold longer. And, as so often is the case with antiques, the colors that were used for painting these horses are so much more beautiful than anything you find in this day and age that they truly are an absolute joy to look at. From the colors, the wear, the materials and the techniques that were used to create these horses we can see that these are 19th century antiques. However and unfortunately we lack the knowledge to be able to tell you from which country these highly decorative and sizeable works of art originate. We just can't find matching style horse sculptures anywhere on the worldwide web. They could be Chinese or Nepalese, but they could also be Persian or Arabian. We just have not been able to find out. What we do know is that they are definitely antique, they are in beautiful condition (with some wear, consistent with their age), they are highly decorative, probably unique and they have a look and feel that will instantly change the atmosphere of the room they are in. Mind you, our sharp price for this wonderful pair of horse sculptures...

Intriguing horse sculpture made of hand carved solid wood, hand painted with beautiful rustic patina. Professionally mounted on steel base. Exceptional object of art for display.

A large nicely detailed carved wooden sculpture of a Tang style horse coming to a halt, on wooden base in its original finish, probably Chinese in origin, dating probably to the earl...

Intriguing horse sculpture made of hand carved solid wood, vivid carving details, hand painted with beautiful rustic patina. Professionally mounted on wood base. Exceptional object ...

Tall antique Swedish horse in carved wood with original patinated paint in off-white color with blue dots. Made circa end of the 19th century. Th...

Signed CH.GROSS on the plinth with the artist's "fox stamp" below, and on the bottom of the base, as well. A beautifully carved modernist wood sculpture by well known and highly collectible New York artist, Chaim Gross (1904-1991). It is one of ten small versions of a 29" sculpture in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sculpture is made of Lignum Vitae wood. The meaning of LIGNUM VITAE is the very hard heavy wood of any of several tropical American guaiacums. Guaiacum is of the caltrop family of tropical American evergreen trees and shrubs. Sometimes called guayacan or guaiacum, it is also known in parts of Europe as Pockholz or Pokhout. Due to its extreme hardness, the wood of such a tree is often used for making pulley blocks, mallet heads, bearings, etc. Provenance: Schrick private collection, Connecticut, USA. Chaim Gross (American, 1904-1991) was an Austrian born American sculptor. He was born in the then Austro-Hungarian village...

Juvenile carved wooden carousel horse carved in the style of Charles Loof. Lions carved into the back of the saddle. Restored. Recently restored. Part of a private collection for mor...

19th century carved wooden horse in original paint.

ABOUT A mid to late 19th century carved wooden horse with horsehair mane and tail, fabric ears, saddle, harness and nail-head eyes. CREATOR Unknown. Made in Germany or the USA....

A wonderfully carved hardwood statue of a jumping horse. c.1940 Slightly naïve but full of charm whittled from hardwood. Beautiful detail throughout. Obvious loss of one rear leg. M...

Hand carved & hand painted rooster sculpture. Very folky rooster.