Reunited. . .

. . . and it feels so good

Reunited 'cause we understood

There's one perfect fit

And, sugar, this one is it

We both are so excited 'cause we're reunited, hey, hey

"Reunited," Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren, 1978

The spill vase of the lissome lass preparing to dive next to a giant water lily has been in my collection for many years. However, at a recent serendipitous nearby estate sale, I came across her matching mate, a man in a similar striped bathing suit leaning against an identical oversized lily. From his appreciative smile as he admiringly gazes upon the diving damsel, I think he is happy they are finally back together. These bisque vases are each about 4.75 inches tall and are unmarked, although they are certainly of German origin.

Humorous Humidor

This humidor is hand painted on each side with a different bathing beauty striking a coy or comic pose.  The 7 inch tall container has a space under the lid for a moist sponge to keep the tobacco from drying out and is marked underneath with "B & Co. France," the mark of  L. Bernardaud and Company in the Limoges region.  It is also signed "L. Lemkuil," no doubt the painter of this porcelain piece.  Although the quality of the decoration is quite good, Lemkuil does not appear to have been a professional employed by Bernardaud, but was most likely a talented amateur who purchased the humidor as a blank.      

Lemkuil clearly copied the bawdy bathers from this series of postcards by French artist Xaiver Sager (1870-1930), one of the number of boudoir artists and illustrators who populated the pages of publications such as La Vie Parisienne, as well as innumerable postcards, with gorgeous gamines and kittenish coquettes.  This baigneuses series dates from the mid to late 1910s.