President Grant and his family brought a stable image of peace, domestic affection, and the good life to a nation shaken by war, assassination, and a presidential impeachment trial. The boy on the rocking horse is inspired by an authentic Victorian illustration of a child’s joy at Christmas. A 24-carat, gold finished brass wreath with enameled colors surrounds this hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain figure. Toys of the type available at Washington’s fancy goods stores during the time adorn the wreath and a steam locomotive, a symbol of this age of industrialization, swings below.