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, August 16, 2018

A Bee in Her Bonnet -- Well, Not a Bee and a Bit Farther South

This belle in a bustle by the German firm of Carl Thieme has appeared previously on this blog, but recently I came across what may be the source of inspiration for this gaudily-gowned gal tying her garter.


This early French fashion print shows a "Femme en Robe à la Polonaise."  This style, with a fitted bodice and the back of the skirt drawn up into swags, was popular in the 1770s and 1780s.  Thieme certainly seems to have based his belle on this early print, substituting a footstool for the stone and a tiled floor for the grassy lawn.  As these prints were made to appeal to wealthy women of fashion, it is unlikely that this lady's pose was originally meant to titillate.  It was instead a creative way to show the style of shoes and stockings worn to accessorize this elaborate outfit.  However, when Thieme  translated the paper print into porcelain in the late 1800s, the intent was certainly to entice. . . .   


. . . . especially as the bustle was hinged to lift up and reveal both the lady's blushing bare buttocks and a rather bold brown beetle.


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