Figures from a small traveling carousel?

They look like Mexican folk art carvings.

I've seen similar ones in Guadalajara. Not meant for a carousel, just statures for decor.

A horse and unicorn would be very unusual subjects for Mexican folk art.

Unusual? Why? Mexico has had horses since Cortez arrived.

As I said, they look like some I had seen in the 1980s, just made for fun decor, not the gaudy tiny ones made for the tourist trap trade.

I agree on that point. The European influence has been there as long as it has in our country and actually their independence came later. I have the most bizarre nearly life-sized metal statue of a knight in full armor I keep because it's so gross it's cute. It's made out of old scrapped refrigerator shells and came from Mexico. I'd call it folk art, and it's certainly not something culturally Indian in nature, but the material was cheap and there was a market for that sort of whimsy.

Heck with no signatures, it's hard to tell where these came from and is anybody's guess and nothing can be ruled out. If these were ever mounted on a carousel, there'd be some indicator on where they'd be mounted somewhere on the unit. And a twenty five pound figure would be like riding a turkey. I suspect they originated as primitive styled art, even if they were made recently. Cute, and looks like something you'd get at a Pier One.

Hey guys/gals. Thank you all.Two points,remember the weight. 25 lbs. ,pier one ,I doubt it. It has to weight about 12 onces for them to carry it.Tourists,well maybe with a car. And a third point,inside The slot for the tail one can see the age. In truth ,I never looked for a signature.But I know if I find one ,it won't say.Mad E Chin-
john

All the Mexican wood folk art sort of stuff I have seen are light weight....
And the Unicorn is not a big part of Mexican myth. Don't think there would be an awareness of it until quite recently....and you say there is a lot of evidence of age...
They could be Spanish...or Portuguese.
Is there any sign of them ever being attached to anything?
Part of my reason for saying they were from a traveling carousel was the fact that both have saddles painted on and are meant to be dismantled for transportation....or storage.
Linda C

We have all sorts of American unicorn art, and the Europeans have been in Mexico as long as the Northern Americas. Pier One........they even sell furniture.....no way are their wares limited to twelve ounces. I have seen horse wood art with instructions for dismanteling for shipping. It it protrudes, it's fragile. Yes, check to see if there is mounting holes on the horses, I had already said that. BTW, my mexican knight sure weighs more than a few ounces. Being Mexican in origin certainly doesn't preclude it might be sold through different venues than a tourist street market.

Heck they may be old American folk art. Or newer folk art, made to look old. At this point, it really doesn't speak to anything.

Hi all. Many s ites have people who will bring down any item posted. And of course there are people who will cheer junk.I doubt that my goodies are worth much.But anyone who thinks that someone is hand carving junk out of HARD wood is wrong.The horse is soild.The unicord has four carved pieces other than the main body.These pieces would be very hard to cut out of the main body.But even then ,the tail is kinda tounge and groove.
No mounting holes.Some poor soul/peasant might have made them for road-side sale.That speaks to something
john
BTW Pier one is fun, for non-lastin junk

Do they look like they are a set, made the same way by the same guy for the same purpose? Or do they look more like someone threw them together because they were close?

I did not imply your carved figures are junk,newly made or that they aren't worth much. I'd love to have them.......the horse, especially. The point I was making is that there is nothing on or about them to lead to anything but speculation at this point as to age, origin or purpose. You might let us in on how you came by them or if they were presented as anything specific.

Hi people.The weight to me says that they were made by the same hand.They both are about the same weight.About the threw together thing,nobody carves hard wood to throw something together.Sure,if that's your income ,you get with it and make stuff.
And Calliope,only the hardness of the wood ,paint patina and faces on them give me signs of age.
We all love big prices.But for me,something made with pride,and made to last doesn't talk ,it screems.
BTW,living(?) in nyc ,I .get most of my stuff in "junk" stories.Sure with all the hawks out there,the stuff is drying up.But seek and ye shall find(well maybe)
john

Jas, about the "threw together thing" ... the poster did not imply that the pieces themselves were thrown together -- it was a question about whether both pieces were made by the same artist or were matched up later. Everyone in this thread has been complimentary about the pieces; no one has said they are junk.

There were and are many, many "nameless" talented artists and craftsmen. Without more information, it is impossible to track down the origins of your piece without more information. WERE you told anything about them when you bought them?

If not, perhaps the best idea would be to find someone who can ID the wood for you. That's not going to pinpoint the artist or even the country of origin, but it could tell you what region of the world the wood came from. If you really want more specifics than that, you could hire a dendrologist to analyze the wood, but that will still only tell you more precisely where the tree was from and possibly when it was cut down. Chances are the item was carved close to where the tree grew.

How about a picture of the bottoms of those animals? The underneath side....not the back side...:)

Hi Chibimimi.I guess that at times I'm too touchy.I think that we have all been on sites where seemingly everything one put up is met with scorn.
Now,I DO NOT THINK that my posts have been "dissed".As I stated in one post ,all comments help add to the picture.Just think that back in the day,most great oil on canvas was done by, at the time "nobodys".The horses aren't that big a deal that I would even think of going through what you bring up.I did get a tad bent by the Pier one thought, but who knows. Thank you
Hi Linda. The botom of one (unicorn) is unfinished. The horse,the paint is complete.
Ah,but wait till I put up my"saw" horses
john

Like the horse was meant to be seen from all sides?

Yes, when I say "thrown together" I mean more like the collection made of similar pieces, not that they were hastily assembled. :)

They don't look quite like they are a set. They sorta go together and if one were decorating with them, one would have no problem using both.

But they don't look like they were made in the same style. The unicorn's features are much more refined than the horse's, and more realistic and proportional, which is pretty good for a mythological creature.

Hi Linda.Sorry the bottom wasn't painted.BTW,the last shot is what the horse was on(just if your wondering)

Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket

These could be decorations, but they could have been child's 'pretend' toys. A child could have sat on the saddle and pretended to travel without the danger of a rocking horse. The 'horse' seems more like a burro than a horse, lending itself to the southwest or Mexico.

Hi JD.Thanks for the words. I think that we beat this horse to death. RIP
john

I would email photos of the critters to this guy....from what I see on the web he is an expert in carousel figures and other large wooden animals.
Can't hurt!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bruce Zubee