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.

Friday, August 21, 2026

Unveiled

This lissome lass' lithe form is framed by her swirling veil. The incredible modeling makes the bisque veil seem to undulate and the belle's draped dress to cling to her soft curves. Of excellent sharp bisque, this piece is about 10 inches high.


The back of the base is incised with the sunburst mark of Gebruder Heubach, a German company best known among collectors for its realistically modeled bisque dolls and figurines of rosy charming children. 


However, there is certainly nothing childish about this deletable dancer's come hither glance.


The image appears to have been inspired by the American interpretative dancer Loie Fuller, pictured here in a 1902 photograph. Born in 1862, Fuller began on stage as a child actress, growing up to become an actress and a dancer. She experimented with flowing silk costumes and multicolored lighting, introducing her "Serpentine Dance" in 1891. Clad in a long dress consisting of multiple yards of thin silk, she held the ends of the skirt in her hands, waving and twisting it as she danced, creating spiraling forms as she exposed and concealed her body, while the changing colored lights suggested everything from flickering flames to ripples of water. In 1892, Fuller traveled to Europe, settling in France where she regularly performed at the Folies Berege. Fuller dancing amid her swirling veils became a popular image of the art nouveau movement. 




 

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