Folk Art Carousel with 11 Figures

Circa 1930s: This outstanding 12" folk art carousel in 7 color original polychromatic paint decoration contains 11 indivudually carved and painted human figures with articulated arms, facial features (notice the tiny ears!), and clothing. Ten of the riders are wearing hats, one figure is standing, and even a fully dressed and made up clown sits alone in one of the six benches. When we consulted Cedar Rapids, Iowa, folk art dealer and collector Tom Armitage about this piece, he conjectured that the carousel may have been part of larger, multi-leveled sculpture or whirligig and noted that "sometimes these guys just couldn't stop building" after they got started on a project. Whatever the case may be, this incredible piece of folk ark certainly stands on its own. Ex. Paul Brenner Antiques.

Ongoing Research: We spoke by phone to Paul Brenner, the longtime Northeast Iowa antiques dealer and appraiser who sold this piece from his collection in 2012 through Rich Penn Auctions, and Mr. Brenner asserted that the information given to him is that a man named Morris Alois of Central Iowa made the carousel in the 1930s. However, our research indicates that Alois is not a surname, and we believe this may be the work of Morris Alois Maertens (1903-1997), nicknamed Bud Maertens, who was born in Belgium and died in the town of Ghent, Minnesota, the sister city of Gent, Belgium. If you have any information that might assist us in our research, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you.