Rocking cockerel of german manufacture circa 1890-1914.
These basic toys, known as "Shoo-fly" horses in America were
exported from Germany in large numbers. The painting is superb, and
turns an otherwise basic toy into something a lot more eye catching.
This particular toy comes from the estate of the late Nellie
Lenson-Smith, 1928-2017. The daughter of a Russian aristocrat,
Nellie was born in Germany, lived in Austria and educated in
Switzerland. She was liberated from a concentration camp in 1945 and
went on to marry Ben Lenson DFC, a renowned pilot. After their
divorce in 1976, she went on to become an antiques dealer in
Portobello Road right up until her final years. You could say a life
even more colourful than the cockerel!