A gig or light carriage for one person, of carved wood and metal, with a single open seat set on two light shafts, between two tall wheels.

A gig or light carriage with seating for a single person. The wooden seat is carved with festoons, grotesque figures, painted and gilded. The upholstery, in Renaissance style silk was probably put on at the time of acquisition. The seat has broken through but straps of the upholstery remain and appear to be of leather. The footboard is lined with painted canvas. The cartouche shaped base-board appears too thin to bear weight though must have been stepped upon. The dragons on the shafts have metal tongues and wings. There is a pierced metal rail at the front of the seat and overall the design combines metal and woodwork to an unusually balanced degree.

Purchased for £35. Registered File 46/2317
This gig is one of the earliest surviving carriages in a British collection. The form of the seat is one that often appears in auctions described as a 'sleigh seat' or a 'gondola seat' but many must have come from carriages.
For carriages of this form, see 'Ûber früher Zweiradwagen mit spezieller Berücksichtigung von Sediolo und Calesso in Italien. Festgabe für Herrn Heinz Schneidel aus Anlass seines 50. Geburtstages gewidmet von Robert Salimann, Amriswil, Mannheim, 24 Mai 1997'. 'Sediolo' was the Italian name for such carriages.

The light, two-wheel design demonstrated by this object is called a ‘gig’. Usually driven by a single horse, a gig was desirable due to the ease which it could be turned around and the comfort provided by its superior suspension. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first known written reference to a horse-drawn gig as 1791, reaching great popularity in the 19th century. The Carriage Foundation calls Italian gigs of this type sediolas, stating that they were a popular choice of carriage for wealthy gentlemen in large cities .

Comparative Objects:
- Carriage Collection Museum in Stony Brook, New York, USA, Catalogue Number 212
- Museo Civico, Bassano di Grappa
- Musee Nationale de la Voiture et du Tourisme (Depot du Musee de Cluny), Compiegne
- Museo Civico d'Arte Medievale e Moderna, Modena
- Eugenio Colletta, Caronno Pertusella, Italy
- Ca Rezzonico

This very light carriage, designed for a single occupant, would have been the equivalent of a sports car, favoured by young and fashionable men. Because of its lightness it was a fast vehicle and easy to turn in city streets. We tend nowadays to forget the variety and stylishness of carriages, but at the time this piece was acquired, curators would have been very conscious of both these aspects of their design. Carriages combined design from a number of different makers - metalworkers, carvers, upholsterers and decorative painters. They were extremely expensive object, often combining new decorative styles with innovative technical developments.

This gig is on loan to the Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages, Maidstone, Kent.

7117-1860