Antique French Painted Carousel Horse

A rare antique, circa 1890s, German hand carved and painted wood carousel horse carnival fair ride by Peter Schneider (famous for making the first double decker carousel in 1898). ...

Darling pair of French putti cherubs in painted iron, each sitting on rounded spheres. One cherub is playing a flute; the other holds a dear little...

Pair of large painted cast iron horse heads, gate post finials. This is a superb large pair of Gate Post finials they are 3 dimensional and can be...

Antique Victorian Cast Iron Figural Painted Tan Cottage House Painted Door Stop. Circa Early 1900s. Measurements: 5" H x 7.5" W x 2" D.

A pair of stoneware pastoral figures on cylindrical pedestals, the male figure in peasant dress with sheaf of wheat on proper right shoulder and the female figure, also in rustic dre...

China, a monumental pair (2) of 500 year old lime stone “Spirit Path” Equine horse head sculptures. Ming dynasty, (1368-1644 CE). A pair of near life size and robust head sections with fine, wavy combed manes, well defined mouths, ears, nostrils, and ornamental bridles, all carved in a medium to dark gray limestone with considerable weathering to surfaces. The smaller head with a later inscription on bottom and signed “Zhuang”. Formerly exhibited “Treasures from Asia”, Shelburne Vermont, Shelburne Art Center, 2006. Originally found in the vicinity of the village of Chuan near Luoyang City, Henan Provance, China. Each mounted on a custom iron display stand. Dimensions: A the smaller 32.5cm, 13” high and 62.5cm, 25” in length and with display stand, 60cm, 24” high; b the larger 37.5cm, 15” high and 67.5cm, 27” in length and with display stand 65cm, 26” high. Please view additional photographs from our Chinese antiquities catalog 35 Years Collecting 35 Treasures, page 60. History: Placing stone animals and human figures along spirit paths in front of important tombs can be traced back at least to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), some two thousand years ago. In ancient times, stone animals and human figures placed before imperial tombs symbolized royal power and privilege in addition to decorative functions. Life size “spirit path” stone horse sculptures are known and can be viewed from Ming dynasty tombs including thirteen imperial tombs of the Ming Dynasty scattered over an area of forty square kilometers in Changping District to the northwest of Beijing. The first Ming tomb...