Lebowski - Centaur
Catalog #067 124×56×44cm
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A centaurine jumper figure in carved and painted wood (reported), depicting a male figure of middle age with long wavy brown hair, a goatee, and dark-framed sunglasses, wearing a patterned Aztec-motif cardigan over a white V-neck undershirt. The lower form is a standard outside-row jumper horse in a classic prancing pose with two legs raised. Attribution to the Lebowski Workshop of Venice Beach, California is reported by the owner. The piece is, by any available measure, unprecedented.
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"I found it. It was in my car. I don't know how long it had been there." (reported)
The owner estimates acquisition occurred sometime on or after a Thursday. No receipt exists. A rug is mentioned in connection with the acquisition but has not been located. A figure named Walter is referenced in the owner's account; his role in the provenance chain has not been established.
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Provenance is, in the owner's words, "a very complicated case." (reported) Prior ownership cannot be traced. The figure was not reported stolen, though this has not been confirmed. A bowling alley in the greater Los Angeles area is referenced in the oral record but has not been identified. No chain of title documentation exists.
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The Lebowski Workshop is not documented in the National Carousel Association census, the specialist auction record, or the holdings of any known institutional collection (sourced: absence of evidence). No comparable centaurine jumper figure — human-equine hybrid form, outside-row configuration, sunglasses-fitted — has been identified at auction or in museum holdings (sourced: extensive search returned zero results, which itself feels about right).
The Aztec-motif saddle blanket is noteworthy for its precise visual correspondence to the rider's cardigan, suggesting either a single integrated design conception or a level of coincidence that strains reasonable interpretation (inferred). This decorative integration has no parallel in documented American or Continental carousel production.
The figure's condition of existence is, on balance, remarkable. That it abides is the primary rarity statement available.
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Surface finish is excellent. The cardigan retains full chromatic range across the brown Aztec patterning; the sunglasses lenses show no crazing or delamination. The saddle field is a deep burgundy with gold trim in good order. Hooves are dark brown, consistent with factory finish (reported). The figure's overall expression suggests a man who has achieved, through some combination of philosophy and inertia, a state of profound equanimity. No restoration is evident. The piece does not appear to have been ridden, by humans or otherwise.
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Existential. Attribution to the Lebowski Workshop is reported and consistent with available physical evidence. Independent verification is not possible and may not be the point.
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Owner interview (reported — transcription complicated by background Eagles music and the sound of ice)
Photographic analysis, romance side only — non-romance side not submitted (noted)
National Carousel Association Census: no record found (sourced)
Auction platform search across 27 houses: no comparable identified (sourced)
CarouselHistory.com: no entry (sourced)
The Stranger, consulted informally: liked the figure (reported)