Noah's ark
Category
Toys
Date
1830
Materials
Wood
Measurements
410 x 640 x 190 mm
Order this imageCollection
Scotney Castle, Kent
NT 792644.1
Caption
Children today immerse themselves in virtual games but their Victorian forebears had just as much fun playing with real toys. This wooden Noah's ark, which belonged to the Hussey family in at Scotney Castle, is one of the most charming of handmade toys to survive from this period. Because of its biblical subject matter, an ark such as this was one of the few toys that children were allowed to play with on Sundays. Most arks, including this one, were made in the Erzgebirge region of east Germany. For centuries, the Erzgebirge [the ore mountains] were the heartland of the Central European mining industry. But with the decline of mining in the 19th century, people turned to wooden toy carving as an alternative occupation. What was once an activity for passing long winter nights became a thriving cottage industry with exports across the globe. An ark of this size and scale would have been an expensive toy. It has a sliding side section that opens up to a spacious interior to house the animals. Although the ark is of notable size, there is not enough room for all of the animals to fit in, as there are over 140 figures, from grasshoppers and canaries to polar bears and tigers.The more exotic creatures clearly hail from the maker's imagination who would only have seen such beasts in books.
Summary
A Noah's Ark with sliding side section opening to an interior filled with animals. German, circa 1830.
Provenance
An appended note, unsigned and undated, records; "Noah's Ark pertaining to Mary (Hussey) and Winifred Herbert. And ? to their Mother (Sykes)."