MPF Conservation was asked to assess a sampling of horses and other decorative elements for the Jantzen Beach Carousel in Portland Oregon. This page is an overview of the horses we assessed; a second page shows the Decorative Elements.
Left, Black Armored horses in large and medium.
The horses came in four basic sizes:
- XL or Extra-Large (almost as large as a live horse),
- L or Large,
- M or Medium,
- S or the Small pony-sized horses which were made for young children.
The horses below were brought into the studio for Assessment:
- White Patriotic Corn Jumper XL
- Grey Tibetan Water River Horse XL
- White Floral Rose “Terri” XL
- Black Armored Pretty L
- Black Pelted Stargazer Feather L
- White Peekaboo Lillie Belle L
- Buckskin Lily Rabbit Hunter L
- Black Armored Pretty M
- Pinto Pelted Semi Stargazer Cat M
- White Turquoise Parker Pony Jumper S
- Pinto Red Parker Pony Jumper S
- And right, the Portland Horse, a Black Peekaboo with Corn Grapes
From these two were chosen for a Test Treatment, and MPFC has two pages dedicated to the horses where we detail the treatments performed, coincidentally the first two horses shown below:
After assessments, determinations would be made regarding treatment:
- Where might there be underlying damage,
- What damage is acute and requires immediate treatment,
- How might the items be treated to prevent further damage,
- The durability for ongoing use,
- The ability for future maintenance to be performed by maintenance staff without the aid of painting and woodworking specialists, and finally,
- What materials introduced could withstand wear without compromising the historic artistic intent of its maker.
Additionally, we had the Small Black Armored Horse, the White Patriotic Stargazer L, the Dappled Lavender Parker Pony and the White Floral Rose L in the studio.
The relief-carved highly detailed cantles (the decorative back of a saddle), example shown right, are bound to raise a smile in adults and children alike. A documentation effort should go forth on just these motifs! To see them all, go to Cantles from the Jantzen Beach Carousel Horses.
We have a second page, Decorative Elements, discussing the other elements MPFC assessed that come together to create the Jantzen Beach Carousel: Benches, cherubs, mirrors, etc.
