Middle-Row Jumper - Sultan
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Carver: Robert Onishenko
Painters:Karen Anderson & Marilynn Carley
Size: 42" chest to rump
Status: finished
Sponsor: available
Sultan's trappings were inspired by those found on a Dentzel tiger that is pictured in The Art of the Carousel by Charlotte Dinger. Along with added embellishments, designed by Lauren Baker, our middle-row jumper has the exotic look of an East Indian pony. Sultan's carver, Robert Onishenko, a member of the Northern Alberta Woodcarvers Association, enjoys relief and chip carving.
The history of the carousel is long and romantic, dating back even before 17th century France, where French cavalrymen speared gold rings with their lances while riding at full speed around a centre pole. Needless to say, this appealed to children as a game, and soon primitive merry-go-rounds were a major feature of every village green in France and England. The crudely carved horses were propelled either by hand or mules.
By the mid-19th century steam became the motive power, resulting in the construction of larger and more elaborate carousels. Although horses and menagerie animals were carved in Germany and England, it was in America, in the latter part of the 19th century, that carousel figures evolved into a superbly carved and painted art form. Many of the great American carousel horse carvers came from Europe, lured by the promise of freedom and opportunity. These young men, who had developed carving skills in their home countries, came to the United States with little more than their boxes of tools in hand. Originally employed as furniture carvers or cabinet makers, they eventually found outlets for their carousel horse carving skills.