Indian Pecking Chicken Paddle Toy
Object Category: Toys
Object Type: Paddle Toys
Country: India
Continent: Asia
Geographic Region: Southern Asia
Materials: Wood, String/Cord
width: 7 in;
height: 9.5 in;
depth: 7 in
This is an Indian pecking chickens toy, so-called even though the moving figure is not a chicken, but instead a tiger.
One of the first references for a pecking chicken toy comes from a twentieth century book on German toys. Such toys have a flat surface, most often a paddle, on top of which is a figure, or figures, that have jointed parts attached to strings. The strings go through the paddle to attach to a ball or weight below. The ball acts as a pendulum.
To make the figures move, the player moves the paddle backwards and forwards or in a circle so that the weight will pull on the strings. As the strings alternately tighten and loosen, the part to which they are attached move up and down.
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