This is my favorite piece in the Hobart Historical Society museum.
(Click on images to enlarge)
It's a toy dog, on wheels so a child could pull it around by a string.
Why is it my favorite? First, because I'm a dog person! Secondly, because to me it looks handmade, and I can't help but think of all the best reasons why a person might want to make a toy like this for a child: love, kindness, generosity, playfulness, creativity.
It's sturdy, meant to be played with. Artistically, it could be described as rough, even crude … but I prefer to call it simple and effective. With a few lines it conveys the essence of a dog, a somewhat squat, muscular dog — maybe a bulldog. Though it would have been easier to cut the sides of the dog's body as a straight vertical plane, the maker went to the trouble of shaping them to suggest the contours of a real dog, and put in a few extra touches, like the mock collar, with decorative studs, and the curly-tipped tail.
You can still see the traces of the face once painted on the dog: the eye on the side of the head, the nose, the red mouth.
I like to think that the dog lost its face and gained all those scars in the wood from hours and years of children's play.
Makes me want to read The Velveteen Rabbit again.
ReplyDeleteNow there's a classic that I've never read!
ReplyDeletewhat a handsome fellow he is - looks very protective too!
ReplyDelete