A rocking horse is an iconic symbol of childhood. It offers the comfort of repetitive movement and the pleasure of an animal friend. In the case of Hesus, a steel and leather rocking horse designed by Israeli designer J. Key of J. Key Studio, it also offers a math lesson—a geometry lesson, to be exact. Hesus gets its form by using “one shape that is repeating itself in different scales into a composition of a horse abstract.” The shape is the triangle, which does a lovely job of evoking the noble animal.

Hesus rocking horse. Designed by J. Key Studio.

Steel and Leather Rocking Horse

Hesus uses triangular pieces of a circle at different scales to create an expressionistic horse. Constructed of stainless steel tubes welded together with a seat of braided leather, Hesus gets across the power and strength of the horse: the tubes reflect the horse’s underlying musculature and the leather echoes the animal’s rich and lustrous fur (as well as its mane).

Hesus is a wonderfully inventive piece for a modern nursery. It is also a perfect fit for Montessori schools or any institution with an unconventional or artistic bent. As much a piece of sculpture as it is an embodiment of the beauty of constraint, Hesus can teach onlookers about the wonder of mathematical precision.

Via Design Milk.

About the Designer: J. Key Studio is the creation of J. Key, a young graduate of the Holon Institute of Technology. Based in Tel-Aviv, Israel, J. Key Studio works on everyday objects such as lamps and candlesticks, as well as concept pieces such as bamboo pencils and modular irons.