POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age
Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age

Collection of plaster casts of horse teeth ranging from birth to old age

Object No. E3414

This is a set of 31 painted plaster casts of horses' teeth showing the stages from birth to an 'advanced age'. The casts were made at Sydney University between 1885-1902 from a set of 31 models of horse teeth (object number 10077) that had been purchased by the Museum in 1885 from Dr Louis Auzoux, Paris, France. The casts were displayed in the Animal Courts in the Museum's old building in Harris Street, Ultimo. Horses were a vital part of people's lives in the 1800s and early 1900s and the ability to determine a horse's age was an important skill when considering buying a horse. Just as there are disreputable second-hand car dealers, buyers of horses had to take care not to be sold an old nag. Horses were a big investment. The term 'straight from the horse's mouth' means to hear something directly from the best authority. It comes from the method of working out a horse's age by looking at its teeth. As a horse got older, its twelve incisor teeth (the grinding teeth at the front) became worn down. The gums receded, and the teeth protruded from the mouth becoming 'long in the tooth'. The teeth also changed in shape from oval to round to a triangular shape and finally to a four-sided shape and became very discoloured. Advice given to purchasers of horses by John Stewart in Sydney in 1890 said that 'a male horse is deemed to be most valuable at age five. Before that, he is not capable of extraordinary exertion' and after that he 'sinks in value'. Just like toddlers, the foal has a set of milk or baby teeth. These were worn down as the foal was weaned and began to graze, and replaced by the adult (or permanent teeth). An adult horse has 40 teeth, 12 incisors (front ones), 4 canines, 12 premolars, and 12 molars. References: Dell, Catherine, 'Superbook': Horses, Kingfisher Books, Grisewood & Dempsey Ltd, London, 1985. Clutton-Brock, Juliet, 'Horse Collins Eyewitness Guides: Horse', HarperCollins, 1992. Clutton-Brock, Juliet (ed), 'The Visual Dictionary of the Horse: Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries', Readers Digest, Surry Hills, NSW, 1994. Margaret Simpson, Curator, July 2015

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Summary

Object Statement

Plaster casts of horse teeth (31) and exhibition labels (31), sets of teeth from birth to old age, used to educate the public how to tell the age of a horse, didactic display objects, plaster / paint / cardboard, maker unknown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1885-1902

Physical Description

Collection of 31 sets of teeth of the horse from birth to very advanced age, with examples to show the effects of crib-biting and wind sucking & and the faucets employed to make a horse look old or young; B (SB). casts from 10077 (SB). Casts from 31 sets of teeth of the horse from birth to very advanced age. Refer 10077 (LC). (Casts taken & sent to Sydney Uni. by order A.R.P.) (LC).

SOURCE

Credit Line

Transferred from Sydney Technical College, 1902

Acquisition Date

4 November 1902

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