Ever since I came across a wonderful 12-13th century Chinese ceramic pillow exhibited at the Met Museum (see here), which shows a boy at play on a hobbyhorse, I have fantasized about finding an ancient hobbyhorse just like the one depicted on it, down to the lovely head and the bamboo stick with leaves sprouting from it, or perhaps a similar rocking horse. Alas, I have had no such luck over the past few months –more than once I have disappeared down Internet black holes for hours, in search of something that seems not to have survived in this form (though I would be delighted to be proved wrong!).

So instead, I looked for the world’s earliest known surviving rocking horse, which can be found at the V&A Museum of Childhood. I was pleasantly surprised about how unique it looks, and how much I like its worn wooden texture and sturdy appearance.

Hobbyhorses (hobby horses, stick horses or cock-horses) have been used for many centuries, both by children as toys, and by adults in different traditions. Of course, a hobbyhorse doesn’t really have to have a head at all, it can just be any long stick, so despite several sources mentioning the Middle Ages as their origin, it makes you wonder whether they might have existed in some form or other since humans started to ride horses – probably around 4000 years ago – and their children imitated them playing with any old sticks that were lying around. This reminded me of the excellent children’s book by Antoinette Portis, Not a Stick (you can watch a read-aloud video of the book here): a stick can be anything you want it to be.

I found lovely examples of stick horses in art – take a look at these three examples which all, coincidentally, date to around 1520: a German print by Albrecht Altdorfer of a suitably chubby putto riding a headless hobby horse; another putto riding a hobby horse, also headless, on an Italian earthenware plate by Giorgio Andreoli; and a German illustration after Holbein (the horse head visible behind the ‘P’).

They seem to represent playfulness, and indeed in the many examples of objects from China that feature children playing, they are often doing so with beautiful hobbyhorses (see here, or here or here). According to information on the Met Museum site, scenes such as these were used in China to express ‘the wish for offspring and the joy of having them’, and hobbyhorses figure prominently in this context, as a shorthand of sorts. The description of this Met Museum dish decorated with a scene of boys at play hints at the possibility of the toy originating in China.

Rocking horses, however, are relatively more recent, and used in a slightly different way, given that they are stationary. The subject of my portrait dates from around 1610 and is traditionally associated with the childhood of King Charles I. There is no way of knowing for sure whether this belonged to him, but there are several details that seem to fit with this. Charles was a sickly child who was not able to walk for the first few years of his life, possibly due to rickets. The museum mentions that there are suggestions of the rocking horse being gifted to him as a way of helping him strengthen his legs.

I like the unassuming air of this horse – it looks like a plaything that has been used and enjoyed repeatedly, like a good piece of furniture. It does not look like a delicate thing for showing off, but rather a solid creation made from elm, and designed for a real purpose. To my eyes, it looks quite utilitarian, though I am aware it is also somewhat related to the style of furniture at the time.

Rocking horses would become very fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries, and went from being sturdy and barrel-like to more refined creations such as this ornate one from around 1750 that possibly belonged to  Gustav III of Sweden and seems the polar opposite of our rocking horse.

The Museo del Cavallo Giocatolo in Lombardy, Italy, which houses a collection of more than 650 toy horses (including rocking horses and hobby horses), is an interesting place to get lost in for a little while, and is a good point of reference for horses as playthings.

I thought about why rocking horses are still appealing, and about how many things made for children rely on a repetitive body motion – swings, see-saws, rocking horses, skipping ropes. Perhaps there is something about seeking rhythms: walking left foot right foot; breathing in and out; jumping up and down; moving back and forth.

It made me think of rocking my children when they were babies. Years later, I still slip into a rhythm absentmindedly if they are in my arms, their eyelids drooping almost on cue. It reminded me too of my thoughts when I was looking at Rita Flower’s house, about how we repeat and imitate actions, seeking comfort and groundedness.

It is lovely to see the signs of heavy wear on the wood from being rocked to and fro. Many of the rocking horses I came across seemed too precious and too ornate to be subjected to intense use, whereas this one feels like a real plaything for a child. I wonder how many children used it over the years. The varnish has worn off the bottom of the rockers, and this horse may well be a shadow of its former glory. But it still has the countenance of a trusty steed that makes a distinctive, solid clunking noise when it gallops, sounding exactly as it did four hundred years ago.