Laugh, Clown, Laugh!

You're supposed to brighten up a place

And laugh, Clown, laugh!

Paint a lot of smiles around your face

And laugh, Clown, don't frown

Dressed in your best colored humor

Be a pallietto and laugh, Clown, laugh!

Music by Ted Fio Rito, lyrics by Sam Lewis and Joe Young, 1928

This clown certainly seems to have a lot to laugh about, as an intoxicating, and apparently intoxicated, lovely lady swoons in his arms. Of blue glazed china, this 5.25-inch tall figurine is actually a bottle, with the lacy cuffs and lithe lower legs of his tipsy tootsie covering the cork. Called a "nipper" by collectors, these comic novelty bottles were intended to hold a "nip" of alcohol. Such bottles were often offered as gifts or prizes by saloons, liquor stores, clubs, and carnivals. The clown is dressed in traditional Pierrot costume with skullcap, ruffled collar, loose tunic top with large buttons, and loose pants. Perhaps the woman represents Columbine, another character from the Commedia dell'Arte tradition, and this gallant Pierrot is rescuing her from the wiles of his crafty rival, Harlequin. Despite his laughing leer, surely this Pierrot's motives are pure--after all, look at the big beautiful bouquet her brought her. This nifty nipper is by the German firm of Schafer and Vater and is faintly incised underneath with the firms crowned sunburst mark.

A Little More Than a Glimpse. . . .

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking

Was looked on as something shocking.

But now, God knows,

Anything goes.

                                              Cole Porter, 1934

In the days of long skirts and multiple petticoats, the image of a shapely female leg with a well-turned ankle often appeared in naughty novelties, such as these lovely lower limbs.

This risqué bisque is a naughty nipper, a novelty bottle that once held a "nip" of alcohol and was often given away by saloons, liquor stores, or at carnivals as gifts or prizes.  The German company Schafer and Vater is know for its comic or bawdy bottles.  Although marked only with a blurred digit, this 6.5 inch tall bottle resembles many of this company's products, especially its underdressed lasses showing off the their lithe legs in molded stockings.

This 5.75 inch tall leg is a bit of a mystery.  Of bisque, it is hollow and open at the top, as well as at the heel, so it could not have served as a bottle.  It is also clad in a stocking of real fabric and the shoe is covered in silk, further suggesting that this limb was not meant to hold liquid.  It cannot stand by itself, so I added the base, with a rod that fits up into the molded hole in the heel.  Perhaps it was meant to be a comic candy container and once had a bag of small sweet treats.  Or, with a base,  maybe it was a counter display to show off a brand of stocking?