Belles of the Ball

…I enjoy watching the girls dancing together, they waltz well . . . . I see only two graceful bodies united, sculpted beneath thin dresses by the wind of the waltz. . . .They waltz lewdly, sensuously, with that delicious inclination of a tall sail of a yacht. . . . I really find it prettier than any ballet. 

The Sémiramis Bar, 1909, Colette 

During Victorian and Edwardian times, it was acceptable for women to dance together, typically at tea dances where there were not enough male partners.  In the early 1900s, restaurants, night clubs, and other places of evening entertainment would hire professional dancers to entertain the patrons, often partnering two pretty women in daring dresses to dance among the tables in the latest, and most shocking, dances of the day.  These bare belles of the ball are by Galluba and Hofmann and are part of the company's highly sought after series of double damsels.  Although these lovely lasses retain the remains of their original mohair wigs, originally this pulchritudinous pair were no doubt draped in the silks and laces of the finest Edwardian fashions.  Of excellent bisque and workmanship, this figurine is 8 inches high and incised underneath "314."

The Lady of the Lamp

This beautiful belle in a bell-shaped skirt is a very unusual lamp by the German company of Galluba and Hofmann. Clearly more she was meant to be more a boudoir light than reading lamp, even though the lovely lady herself holds a book! The lamp is 12 inches tall and of excellent china.

'

The dress fits over a round metal ring, making it a real hoop skirt

Although the piece is not marked, the elegant miss balanced above her billowing skirt is identical to a half doll model attributed to Galluba.

And those shapely legs, gracefully standing with one slender foot forward, and ruffled undergarments are familiar to any collector of Galluba's fine fashion ladies.  The unusual tan base is unique to Galluba's gorgeous girls.