Whirligig in the form of a caricature of a boy holding a watermelon slice: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A wooden whirligig in the form of a caricature of a boy holding a watermelon slice on a metal stand.

A painted wooden cutout of a seated boy in profile holding a watermelon slice cutout. The boy is wearing a yellow and black hat, white shirt, and red shorts. The hat has a black band and a black bow on one side. Four (4) round holes are located on the bottom of the figure. A metal pole extends upward from his hand connecting to the watermelon slice.

A painted wooden cutout of a watermelon slice. The slice is semicircular with a curve cut out along the top edge, representing a bite taken. The watermelon is painted with red flesh, black seeds, and a green rind. A round hole on the bottom edge fits into metal rod on boy's hands and rotates.

A black metal stand. The stand has a rectangular base with cylindrical pole in the center.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th century
• Created by: Unidentified
• Type: whirligigs
• Medium: paint on wood , metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2007.7.300abc): 15 × 13 1/4 × 4 3/4 in. (38.1 × 33.7 × 12.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2007.7.300a): 13 1/4 × 10 3/4 × 13/16 in. (33.7 × 27.3 × 2.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2007.7.300b): 2 5/8 × 4 3/4 × 13/16 in. (6.7 × 12.1 × 2.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2007.7.300c): 15 1/4 × 12 × 4 in. (38.7 × 30.5 × 10.2 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2007.7.300abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.