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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Another Gargantuan Galluba Gal

 Although only a half doll, this bewitching belle is one big girl at 7 inches tall.  Although by Galluba and Hofmann, she is of china, rather than the fine bisque more typical of the lovely ladies made by this German manufacturer.  She has her original dark brown mohair wig and is incised on back of her waist with “9544."


Her face is painted in the typical Galluba style, but she lacks the intaglio pupils commonly found on Galluba's lovely ladies.  Note the tiny teeth molded between her parted, smiling lips.


Friday, August 7, 2015

Beach Beau

Summer romance is perfectly portrayed by this superb bisque sculpture of a bathing beauty and her handsome beach beau engaged in a little sweet and innocent seaside flirtation.  The excellent bisque is heavy and sharp, capturing every small detail of this nostalgic scene.


The ivory colored bisque was not left uncolored, but was expertly shaded with faint washes of golden brown, to bring out every tiny detail.



The sculptor and artist lavished as much attention to the back as the front.


Even the sandy beach was not ignored, as at their feet are scattered seashells and the lovely lady's recently abandoned book, no doubt a romance novel.


This seaside scene is 7.5 inches high and is stamped underneath in faint cursive that appears to  read "Perlena," identical to the mark on the pretty poser who earlier graced this blog.  However a fellow collector and friend from Germany contacted me following my earlier posting, explaining that the name is actually "Herbena," the mark of Herbert Behne, who headed a porcelain painting atelier in Berlin in the 1910s. Behne did not manufacture porcelain, but instead bought blank ware from Hertwig and Company and Sitzendorf Porcelain. Below is a clearer picture of the Behne mark forwarded to me by my German contact. It is this sort of generous sharing of information that helps educate all collectors!