A Psychedelic Vintage Fairground Merlin Ball Game Stand
SOLD
Origin: English
Period: Mid Twentieth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1960
Circumference: 66 inches (at base)
Height: 37 inches
Depth: 20 inches (maximum)
Presenting Merlin, a dramatically hand painted fairground game, standing aghast with grotesque features providing an instant, albeit slightly horrific, charm.
Evocative of the magic of the fairground, Merlin is in vintage condition, in other words his paint has flaked and chipped off in places (he has had an awful lot thrown at him in the past) but this only adds to his aesthetic appeal and structurally he is in sound order.
Historically, participants were asked to throw balls into Merlin’s agog gaping chasm in exchange for goldfish and he could be put to good use back in the public domain as intended, or perhaps now acting as a truly original decorative feature; the mind boggles at the possibilities. He could also be utilised as a ready made bin top ready to gobble up any public waste; but he’s already told us he’s not a huge fan of the varied and unanticipated flavours of rubbish and much prefers a wooden ball diet.
Whatever you decide to do with him, he insists on a proper and fitting home; by pain of death from greedy Merlin himself.