Postcard Image

Postcard Image
As the Victorian era passed into the Edwardian and Roaring Twenties, a market developed for bisque and china bawdy novelties and figurines of women in revealing outfits. Although now most of these figurines seem more coy and cute than ribald and risque, in their time they symbolized the casting off of the perceived restraints of the Victorian era.

These little lovelies included bathing beauties, who came clad in swimsuits of real lace or in stylish painted beach wear, as well as mermaids, harem ladies, and nudies, who were meant to wear nothing more than an engaging smile. Also produced were flippers, innocent appearing figurines who reveal a bawdy secret when flipped over, and squirters, figurines that were meant to squirt water out of an appropriate orifice.

Most were manufactured in Germany from the late 1800s through the 1930s, often showing remarkable artistry and imagination, with Japan entering the market during World War I.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Pas de Deux

This delicate dancer is the sister of the bisque ballerina appearing in my previous post. Also 8 inches high and jointed only at the shoulders, she is of excellent pale china.  Her molded gray wavy short hair is adorned with a gilt headband decorated with raised dot design.  There is a hole in her left toe for a supporting rod and there are no marks. 


This picture from a 1911 Dressel, Kister, and Company catalogue displays an entire troupe of toe dancers.  Most came au naturel, but they were all supplied with simple wooden stands.   This charming china ballerina appears in two sizes in this photograph. 


Although all these lovely ladies appear to have molded hair, another picture from this catalogue shows a dancer, in the lower right corner, striking the same pose as the bisque belle in the prior post.  Other than the molded hair, the modeling and detail appears to be identical.



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