The Ark

Rare 19th century oversized Erzgebirge Noah’s Ark

A rare example of a large 19th century German Noah’s Ark, with numerous over sized animals made from papier mache, pony skin, fur, gutta-percha mostly with glass eyes. A completely untouched example with aged repairs to a few animals. All hand painted detail across both the ark and animals. Rare due to its size this artefact would typically have be played by children as a special treat on Sundays as these toys are of a biblical theme. This is truly a lovely object and is highly collectable, especially in its untouched condition.

Size in inches of the ark: H 19” x W 32” x D 9”

Animal’s size: H 7” x W 5” x D 2” to H 2.5” x W 3.5” x D 1.3”

Origin: Germany

Period: Mixed Ages  

Material: Pine ark / mixed natural material animals

Completely solid in structure and form, fading and wear across all the figures and ark. With aged repairs on the animals but this does not detract from them standing alone or their decorative quality. The ark is dated circa 1890 and a few animals made from gutta-percha would have been added to the collection in the early to mid 20th Century. As the photos aim to show there is missing detail on the animals and ark as you may expect from a well played old object of this nature.

It’s exceedingly difficult to photograph all the areas of this piece, therefore we strongly suggest reviewing all the photos provided as part of this advert and propose questions where sections are unclear to avoid disappointment.

For multiple years we have sold antique items globally, please expect our items to show relevant age and natural wear, Items only restored due to breaks and major loss, and we always stipulate this in our condition report.