Hungry Horse Nag Figure

VINTAGE "HUNGRY HORSE" FIGURINE - GRINNING SWAYBACK OLD NAG WITH RIBS SHOWING, MOLDED WOOD-LOOK COMPOSITION, NO MARK FOUND A caricature "hungry horse" figurine - the classic comic swaybacked old nag with a long drooping neck, a wide toothy grin, big rolling eye, sunken hollow flanks with the ribs modeled in, and a shaggy scored mane, forelock, and tail, standing on an integral oval ground base. Deep brown throughout with a carved-wood appearance and a soft sheen, lighter tan tones raised across the high points and darker glossy brown-black in the mane, tail, hooves, and base recesses, plus traces of dark green in the tail and around the hooves. Roughly 7 in long and 5 in tall. Marks: none - the flat underside of the base is bare and carries no name, number, date, label, or foil sticker, so no maker is claimed. Flaws to know about: light rubs and paler wear spots on the raised edges, muzzle, ears, and base rim; a visible mold seam line running around the base; scattered small dark specks and old grime in the textured recesses; general age wear to the finish. No breaks, chips, or repairs were found. UNTESTED and unverified - the material was not tested, and no attribution is claimed. Sold as one figurine. Description Form: standing swaybacked horse caricature, head down and turned with an open grinning mouth and visible teeth, pricked ears, exaggerated hollow belly and ribs, feathered lower legs, long combed tail sweeping to the ground base. A humorous folk-style piece, not a realistic horse model. Construction and finish: molded rather than carved - the flat underside shows a wood-grain-look striated surface and a seam line consistent with a compression or two-part mold. The look is molded wood-pulp composition of the Syroco type, but that is an opinion from the photographs and was not tested; a resin or composition casting cannot be ruled out. Finish is a stained brown wood-look surface with hand-rubbed highlighting, not glazed pottery. Marks: no maker mark, signature, date, copyright, model number, or country of origin is visible anywhere, and no label or felt pad remains on the base. None is claimed. Size: approximately 7 inches long and approximately 5 inches tall, on a base roughly 4 inches long by 2.5 inches wide, per the tape-measure photographs. In each tape frame the tape lies loose against the piece rather than hooked, so these are close estimates only. Photographed on a dark oak table. Only the one figurine pictured is included. The Milwaukee tape measure is a photo reference only and is NOT included. Attribution note Figurines of this exact comic type are well known to collectors as "hungry horse" or "starving horse" pieces, also sold as the "swaybacked nag" and, in some listings, as "Nags Head" or "Sorrowful Suzy." They are most often attributed to the molded wood-composition process developed by the Syracuse Ornamental Company - Syroco - and to the several other firms that made similar wood-look castings. Syracuse University Libraries records that the company was founded in Syracuse, New York in 1890 by immigrant woodcarver Adolph Holstein, and that when hand-carving could not keep pace with demand he developed a material combining Adirondack wood pulp with flour as a binder and other strengthening agents, extruded and pressed into compression molds taken from original wood carvings. That product, SyrocoWood, was the mainstay of company output through the 1940s, and by the 1930s the firm had a broad line of gift and novelty items in SyrocoWood and in "Woodite," a wood-flour and polymer blend. The Naval History and Heritage Command describes the same process in similar terms for 1940s figurines, noting the faux wood graining that results. The company became Syroco Inc. around 1940, was sold in 1965, and the plant closed in 2007, per Syracuse University Libraries and press reporting. Notes for bidders Treat this as a wood-composition piece, not as wood and not as pottery. Molded wood-pulp composition is water-sensitive - do not wash it, soak it, wipe it with a wet cloth, or put it anywhere damp, because moisture swells and lifts the surface and the damage does not reverse. Dust it dry with a soft brush or a dry cloth and work the bristles into the scored mane and base texture where the grime collects. Do not refinish it. No stripper, no stain, no oil soaking, no furniture polish, and no sanding - the brown coloring is a surface finish over a molded body, and the rubbed highlights that give it its character sand off immediately. Light hand-rubbing with a dry cloth is the most that is worth doing. Worth checking in hand: go over the flat underside and the belly under a bright light and a loupe for a faint impressed letter, style number, or copyright date, and look for any remnant of a foil label or glue ring. A found mark or date changes how this should be catalogued. Keep it out of direct sun and off a heat vent, and display it indoors in a dry room. Only the item(s) pictured are inc