Opus Antiques has dated this piece to the 19th Century.
The main body of the ark only measures 13.5cm l, including the base it is 23cm l x 7.4cm w x 12cm h.
The is a wide variety of animals consisting of elephants, camels, deer, moles to name a few. Insects consist of grasshoppers and ladybirds, and there is also a large variety of birds.
They have been all hand painted with different expressions on the faces.
Noah's Arks were very popular children's toys in the 19th century and most wealthy families would own one, which would be permitted to be played with on a Sunday only!
The majority of Noah's Arks were made in Germany and there were basically three different types. A flat bottom one, a round bottom one and a bottom in the shape of a boat. The animals went in and out of the ark via either the roof, door or a sliding side panel, and were decorated by painting.
Noah's Arks were not made by big toy companies but in the main it was a cottage industry with families literally making one or two particular types animals hence the different expressions that can be found on the animals faces. Other families would have built the arks and different families would then been painting and decorating them. If you had a large enough family then maybe the whole ark would be made by the family.
Opus Antiques has dated this piece to the 19th Century.
Antique treen, boxes & decorative georgian items
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Opus Antiques Profile Page
An Unusually Small Noahs Ark - Approx 80 Animals, Birds & Insects & 8 Figures
