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, June 19, 2025

Toweling Off

This bronze bathing belle poses on her marble pedestal. Wrapped in a towel, perhaps she is contemplating a dip in the waves, or maybe she is resting after a refreshing swim, as the ribbons to her bathing cap are untied, dangling down her back. Her ballet-style bathing slippers are bound with bows at her ankles. 

However, her towel swings open on a hinge, revealing that the bather has neglected to do a bit more than simply tie her bathing cap. The lovely lass has a soft golden patina, while her towel and bathing cap are darker bronze. 



Incised "Austria" on the back, this 6.5-inch mechanical bronze is yet another example of Austrian foundries' fascination with seaside wardrobe malfunctions. Beginning in the mid-19th century, Austria was famed for its foundries and ateliers producing finely crafted artistic bronzes. Although works covered a wide variety of genres, including classical studies, animals and nature, comic subjects, and Orientalist images, one speciality was erotic bronzes, often with the naughty bits initially concealed, only to be revealed by a push of a button or the moving of a piece of metal drapery. 





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