still Life with Carved Horse Head

"Antique Horse Head Objet d'Art" (16"X12", Oil on Canvas, $450)

Another small item from my grandmother's house in Rockport. This was a tabletop object and didn't have a flat side or a pair, so it wasn't half of a set of bookends. It's pretty old, and I'm pretty sure it was just for sitting around. I was always intrigued by it (it was part of a horse collection that my grandmother kept in the den), with it's startled or determined look, and it's close-cropped mane. It must have been modeled on a military or police horse. I also always wondered if the rest of the horse was rearing up and kicking his front legs. Why else would his ears be turned backwards and his chin tucked in like this? I know there's no reins or anything in the sculpture, but I figured the artist left them out as distracting from the horse.

With the stone base, this hardwood-carved object is quite heavy, which adds a little to its air of 'importance'. I like the coloring of the wood and the overall smoothness of the old carving, as well as the purple-grayness of the stone base. Just the shape of this carving of the noble beast's head gives me an understanding of why so many people so passionately love their horses.