Not currently on display at the V&A

Mule and Clown; comic figures

Clockwork Toy
1910-1925 (made)

A similar version of the Hunter and Arab (B119-1994) with a mule and clown rather than a horse. The animal's ears are long and the tail small and stubby. The whole is cast in two halves down the length and held
together by tongue and slot joints. It is lithographed tinplate showing a pale bluish and white mule with yellow; dark blue; red and white trim and a clown in red; yellow; blue and white. The whole is designed to be comic. The clockwork mechanism is housed inside the body and covered with a metal plate cut out to allow the front legs to move. The back legs are a separate cast pinned to the plate by tongue and slot joints. The integral key protrudes from the body at the left flank and when wound; only the front legs move causing the whole to hop along. This is a development from the earlier versions when both sets of legs moved. *This model is probably earlier than B122 and B123 -1994 as the style of trademark and the overall visual effect looks older.


Object details

Object type
TitleMule and Clown; comic figures (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
lithographed tinplate with clockwork mechanism
Brief description
Galloping Mule and Rider; Günthermann; German; 1910-25
Physical description
A similar version of the Hunter and Arab (B119-1994) with a mule and clown rather than a horse. The animal's ears are long and the tail small and stubby. The whole is cast in two halves down the length and held
together by tongue and slot joints. It is lithographed tinplate showing a pale bluish and white mule with yellow; dark blue; red and white trim and a clown in red; yellow; blue and white. The whole is designed to be comic. The clockwork mechanism is housed inside the body and covered with a metal plate cut out to allow the front legs to move. The back legs are a separate cast pinned to the plate by tongue and slot joints. The integral key protrudes from the body at the left flank and when wound; only the front legs move causing the whole to hop along. This is a development from the earlier versions when both sets of legs moved. *This model is probably earlier than B122 and B123 -1994 as the style of trademark and the overall visual effect looks older.
DimensionsHeight: 5 3/4in Width: 2in
Marks and inscriptions
SG within a thick circle and two thinner outer circles; GERMANY in semicircle on upper left side of body
Object history
Siegfried Günthermann; of Nuremberg; founded 1877; used the trademark SG within a set of circles; ended 1965.
Production
Made by: Siegfried Günthermann; Nuremberg
Germany
Collection
Accession number
B.126-1994

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Record createdApril 17, 2000
Record URL
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