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, July 16, 2026

Clowning Around

Figural powder dishes featuring a Pierrot hoisting a lovely lass onto his back or shoulders while she displays a length of lithe leg were a popular theme in the 1920s, as demonstrated by examples that have previously appeared on this blog. The Pierrot served as the base for the shallow powder dish or bowl, while a half doll sat in the dish on a swansdown puff, which doubled as her feather tutu. This example is a bit naughtier, as Columbine, or at least a belle dressed for a carnival ball, suggestively straddles Pierrot's shoulders, a shapely leg dangling on each side of his face. 


The dish alone is about 4 inches tall, while the full assembly is around 7 inches. Underneath the base is incised with the crowned "S" of the Sitzendorf Porcelain Factory and "26021." The half doll is unmarked. The pretty miss has lost her original swansdown puff, but I created a display stand that replicates the look of the missing fluffy puff.



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