Shell Sleigh

Description

This figural sleigh dating from ca. 1780 with a Louis XVI-style shell-shaped seat was originally drawn by a single horse and only later adapted for a team of two. The runners patterned with braiding and bead-and-reel motifs end in a small swan’s head. Especially striking is the lavishly carved seat in the shape of a shell, which is large enough to seat two people side by side. The coachman perched on the little seat bolted on at the rear. The shapes of figural sleighs were rarely a product of chance. The shell counted as an attribute of the goddess Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, and hence symbolized desire and fertility. Such sleighs were used for festive sleigh rides and carousels.