Saxony-Anhalt: Around 150-year-old horse model is built

A historical, life-size model of a horse is assembled in Halle from around 100 individual parts.

Saxony-Anhalt: Around 150-year-old horse model is built

A historical, life-size model of a horse is assembled in Halle from around 100 individual parts. The former teaching model for students is a nationally valuable cultural asset. A dismantling is no longer planned.

Halle (dpa/sa) - An approximately 150-year-old life-size horse model made of papier-mâché is being rebuilt at the University of Halle. The object was conserved in 2020 and until now has been in individual parts. Since 2012 it has been part of the nationally valuable cultural asset. "The horse model was bought by the University of Halle in 1874 for teaching purposes and was used for many decades as a teaching model for students in the agricultural faculty," said Frank Steinheimer, head of the central repository for natural science collections at the University of Halle.

In the second half of the 20th century, the model entered the university collection and was forgotten. The object comes from the manufactory of the French anatomist Louis Thomas Jerôme Auzoux (1797-1880).

The model consists of almost 100 parts and weighs around 200 kilograms. The fidelity to detail of the anatomical details was created by multi-layered color design and transparent glue coatings. Iron bars were used for stabilization, especially for large parts such as the legs. Everything is clearly labeled. There are numbered metal pins on each body part. In addition, 3,700 paper labels are distributed throughout the object, naming the individual organ parts in French.

The upper part can be opened and removed. The horse's interior is designed in detail. For example, the brain can be disassembled into several parts and opened up, the individual heart valves are reproduced in the heart, and the lamellar structures between the hoof and the skeleton can be removed inside the hoof.

According to the information, the horse will be on display in a climate-controlled display case during tours of the central magazine. An insight into the interior will also be possible in the future with the help of a virtual 3D model, so that the model no longer has to be disassembled.

The preservation was funded by the Coordination Office for the Preservation of Written Cultural Assets (KEK/Berlin) and the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation (Munich). The total costs are around 70,000 euros.