Record Details
Chalkware: Goat
Artist
Artist unidentified
Date1850–1900
Place/RegionEastern United States
MediumPaint on plaster of Paris
Dimensions7 5/8 × 9 × 3 3/8"
Credit LineBequest of Effie Thixton Arthur
Accession number1980.2.24
DescriptionChalkware is actually made from gypsum, a mineral used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris. Chalkware figures made in molds were the simplest, least expensive solution to the demand for decorative objects by the middle class homemaker in both Europe and America. Many of the designs commonly associated with chalkware were first seen in earlier English earthenware figures and include animals, birds, fruit arrangements, and contemporary celebrities.
Elizabeth V. Warren and Stacy C. Hollander, "Nodding Head Goat," Expressions of a New Spirit: Highlights from the Permanent Collection of the Museum of American Folk Art (New York: American Folk Art Museum, 1989), 102