Bathing Beauty of the Day: Day 12

Ms. #372 is a china powder box adorned with a bisque bathing beauty by Galluba and Hofmann.  The 4 inch tall seated bather beauty wears her original dark blonde mohair wig and yellow net suit with pale yellow ribbon trim.  She has no visible marks, but her sea shell seat is incised “9641" on the bottom.  The lissome lass is attached to the top of the box with a wooden peg.  I dislike the term "rare," which is overused and abused in the world of antiques, but in all my years of collecting, I have come across only one other shell box and belle by Galluba.  In that example, the shell was larger and the reclining bather was pegged to the shell's lower edge.

Bathing Beauty of the Day: Day 11

Ms. #369 is a power box by William Goebel.  Her severe flapper hair, elongated eyes, arched brows, white complexion, and beestung red lips recall silent movie star Louise Brooks. Of ceramic, the box is 4 inches long.  The box is incised and stamped underneath with the William Goebel crown mark and incised “Dep,” “T 579," and "3/0;" it is also faintly stamped  “Germany.” A ceramic cigarette protrudes from the opening between her scarlet lips.

The top of the box lifts off and the cigarette serves as the handle for small pale pink swansdown puff.

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 10

Ms.  #368 is from the German company of William Goebel.  She is 4.5 inches tall and is of excellent bisque and decoration.  She retains her original mohair wig, which, as is typical for Goebel, is a hank of mohair wrapped around her head and held in place at the  sides with pearl-headed pins.  These wigs are quite fragile and tend to unravel over time.  She has desirable tinted gray stockings and molded dark gray pumps with black trim.  Underneath, she is stamped in black "Germany" and painted with a freehand “k” under her left thigh.

Goebel made a number of variations of this mold, including a  barefoot nude with molded hair or a wig, a bathing belle in a molded tank suit, and the scarcest of all, this masked lady of mystery.  Also 4.5 inches tall,  Ms. #394 wears a molded black half-mask, and a black beauty spot adorns her right cheek. 

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 9

Ms. #367, from the German firm of Hertwig and Company, still wears her original mesh and ribbon outfit.   Of excellent bisque and modeling, this 6 inch tall delicate dancer is supported by a small vase behind her.  Both her arms and right leg are free from her body and her graceful hands have free thumbs.  The piece is incised on back of base “1764.”

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 8

 Ms. 366 is a slender sylph by the German company of Galluba and Hofmann.  Standing a statuesque 7.5 inches tall, she poses coyly on her pedestal, clad only in her black stockings and heeled pumps.  She is incised "405 M. m." on the bottom of the base and is stamped in red “Made in Germany.”   Her  mohair wig is a replacement.  She is of the finest bisque and decoration as is typical of Galluba.  These standing ladies are far scarcer than their reclining or seated sisters.  Not only did they require more skill to assemble and fire at the factory,  their dainty feet and delicate ankles are weak points and over the years many must have been broken. 

Bathing Beauty of the Day: Day 6, Redux

On Day 6, I introduced Ms. #364, and attributed her and her sisters, Ms. #363 and Ms. #365 (Days 5 and 7, respectively) to the German firm of Schafer and Vater.  Last night,  I remembered that a generous collector from Germany had once sent me a copy of a page from a 1920 Schafer catalogue.  I pulled out the page, and there was Ms. #364, affirming that Schafer was indeed her creator.

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 7

Lucky seven is Ms. #365, joining Ms. #363 and Ms. #364 to form the last of this tantalizing trio by Schafer and Vater.  Unmarked, and of excellent bisque and modeling, this flirtatious flapper is 4.5 inch long.

Bathing Beauty of the Day: Day 6

Ms. #364, a most limber lass, is undoubtedly a sister to Ms. #363.  Unmarked, but  most certainly from the German firm of Schafer and Vater, she is 3.5 inches tall.  She displays the same excellent sharp bisque and modeling as her previous sister.

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 5

Ms. #363 is unmarked, but is certainly from the German firm of Schafer and Vater, which produced several series of boisterous blondes clad only in short white chemises, black stockings, and  heels. In addition to her scandalous state of undress, this widely-smiling flapper flaunts a cigarette!  Of excellent sharp bisque, she is 3.5 inches tall.

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 4

In May, I blogged about the the Five Barrison Sisters, a vaudeville act from the 1890s that specialized in naughty antics and double entendres. Their most famous act consisted of the sisters, clad in childish frilly dresses, singing about "Mein Klein Katz" (My Little Cat), and ending the song by flipping up their skirts and exposing their "pussies," a kitten strategically tucked into the crotch of each of their ruffled knickers. Ms. 362 was undoubtedly inspired by the Barrison's act, even though her kitten is tucked into her bosom and not her bloomers. This 8 inch tall bisque figurine is dressed in a unique outfit identical to one worn by the sisters on stage, even down to the odd floral-adorned hat. There are no marks. Although the Barrisons were international stars in their short heyday, they are little known now, and one wonders how many Barrison-inspired figurines sit unidentified on antique store shelves and in collectors' curio cabinets.

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 3

Ms. #361 is one of the scarcer, and probably one of the most most suggestive, poses by the the German firm of Galluba and Hofmann. She has her original mohair wig and is 4.5 inches long. Of excellent bisque and modeling, she is incised "406" followed by a cursive “H” on inside of her left thigh. There is a spot of slag on her right hip and another on her side. Such minor factory flaws would have been hidden by her silk net and ribbon bathing suit, now long lost to the years, and attest to her age and authenticity.

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 2

Ms. #350 is a 5 inch tall china woman on chamberpot. Her dark blonde hair peeks out under a flowing light blue scarf and there is an opening on top of her head. Other than the scarf, she is dressed in a pale blue corset, white ruffled knee-length bloomers, black stockings and low-heeled slippers. Delicately painted and well modeled, she is of fine German quality, but there are no marks.

She has a salacious secret, because the bottom of her chamber pot is open, revealing her bare buttocks.

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 1

I haven't posted anything lately, in part because I have just not been able to come up with any particularly edifying and novel theme. But then, since when has that ever stopped a blogger? So just to keep my finger in the blog pie until inspiration finally strikes, I am going to try to post a bathing beauty a day (more or less).

I catalogue all my ladies with a number. Here is Ms. #306. Although unmarked, I attribute her to the German firm of Hertwig and Company, who produced a series of nubile nudes posed on this same white bisque base. Of fine pale precolored bisque, she displays the extraordinary modeling found in so many of Hertwig's finer nudes. The slim hands have free and her beautifully sculpted athletic adolescent body has subtle blushing on the breasts, belly, and knees. She is now clad only in painted ballet slippers, but in the Hertwig catalogues, her sisters wore swimsuits of net and ribbon. She is fastened to the base wth a tiny screw through the sole of her right foot. Like many Hertwig products, the decoration is cold painted and subject to wear. This slender sylph is 6 inches tall.

Collect Them All!: Sitzendorf Sea Siren Series

German manufacturers often produced a series of similar or related figurines. The challenge for the collector, of course, is to collect them all! This is a page from a 1929 catalogue of aquarium supplies from Grassyfork Fisheries, Inc. Entitled "Mermaid Combinations in Colors," the page offers "a new line of mermaid figurines mounted on representations of various forms of aquatic life imported by Grassyfork Fisheries." The figurines are said to be of bisque, "with attractive coloring and a luster finish of great beauty." Since luster is a glaze, the figurines would have to be of china, not bisque, but the catalogue often uses the terms interchangeably. Of the six figurines pictured, five are clearly not mermaids, but nude sea nymphs, their modesty ensured by a strategically placed drapery (or, in the case of the nubile nude on the crab, her own hands).

Here is the lady on the lobster. Of excellent china, and beautifully modeled, the figurine is 4.5 inches long and 3.25 inches high. The lobster has an airhole on his back and on top of the tail, which would release the air from inside the figurine when it was placed in the fish tank, preventing the figurine from floating and allowing the ornament to be anchored on the aquarium floor. Underneath the piece is incised "Ges. Gesch." and with the crowned "S" of the Sitzendorf Porcelain Factory. "Ges. Gesch" is short for "gesetzlich geschutzt," which means that patent rights have been granted and registered for the design.

This modest maiden has a right to be a bit crabby, as the "luster finish of great beauty" was not fired in and would slowly wash away when the piece was submerged in an aquarium. Her shelled steed shows such signs of wear on its shiny shell. Also incised with the Sitzendorf mark and "Ges. Gesch.," the piece is 3.5 inches high. Holes on each side of the crab's shell serve to release inside air.

This sea siren's starfish has lost almost all of its luster finish. There are airholes in the top of the starfish. Also 3.5 inches high, the piece is incised underneath with the Sitzendorf mark and "Ges. Gesch."






This femme's finny friend has retained its luster finish, showing how eye-catching the original coloring could be. There are small airholes in the fish's head and tail. Incised "Ges. Gesch.," the piece is 3.5 inches high and 4.25 inches long.


Toddling along on a turtle, this nude naiad is 4.25 inches long and is incised with the Sitzendorf mark and "Ges. Gesch."

Variations on a Theme by Galluba and Hofmann

German porcelain manufacturers were always seeking to expand their product lines to outpace their competitors and appeal to as wide a market as possible, but sculpting and molding an entirely new model was expensive and time consuming. Manufacturers cleverly solved this dilemma by modifying existing models to create a new product without the expense of developing a wholly new prototype. Here is a nubile nymph from Galluba and Hofmann who seems to be reaching out for a hug. She is 6 inches long and has retained her original mohair wig. On the inside of her left thigh she is incised "405 1/2," followed by an obscured letter. This is one of the less common poses produced by Galluba.

This pretty lady with her pussycat is the same model by Galluba, albeit in a larger size. Eight inches long, she is incised "424" followed by a lower case cursive "g" under both her left thigh and on the sole of her left foot. She has lost the fragile fingers on her right hand, which is unfortunately a common problem with this pose.

The friendly feline was molded and added during the greenware stage, giving Galluba the flexibility to place a pet on any of its standard bathing belles. Ladies have been found with attached cats, kittens, spaniels, dogs, and even a grinning imp. Any such addition make even the most common Galluba pose highly desirable.

Galluba produced a porcelain line designed to imitate ivory decorated with gold, such as this sultry sultana, barely clad in her costume of molded gold beads and jewels. Even her hair, which is molded in a chignon, and face is decorated in soft warm golden brown tones. Incised "9725" on her left buttock, she is 8 inches long.

Modeled in pure white bisque, this voluptuous beauty appears to be carved in marble. The largest of these ladies, she is 9.5 inches long, and is incised "9527" on the sole of her left foot.

Heubach Bathing Belle & Skinnydipping Sister

This art deco nude appears in my second book, where I attribute her to the German firm of Gebruder Heubach. She is 4.5 inches tall.

My attribution turns out to have been correct, as here is the same fabulous flapper, except with raven hair and a painted, but not molded, red bathing suit. Of the same excellent china as her nude sister, she is slightly larger, at 5 inches tall.

 

Underneath she is stamped with the Heubach square mark. There is an obscured number, but it appears to end with "99/3."

The slender nude is marked with "Made in Germany" in a circle, which is sometimes found on Heubach pieces, and she is incised with what appears to be "11896/3."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sitting on Pins and Needles

Although “naddelkissen” sounds like a Germanic term of endearment, it refers to the utilitarian pincushion. But, thanks to creative German manufacturers, utilitarian did not necessarily mean ordinary, and decorative pincushions, draped with delicate laces and dainty ribbons, were often topped with a delectable damsel of china or bisque, including beautiful bathing belles.

This extraordinary creation of felt, fringe and ribbon looks as bright as the day it left the factory. The crowning touch is the lovely lady by Galluba and Hofmann luxuriously lounging on its top. She has her original light brown mohair wig and is clad in a top of pale yellow ribbon and a short skirt of pink fringe, which matches her molded pink ballet-style bathing slippers. Protecting the modesty of her bosom is an elaborate garland of gold cord and blue silk ribbon. The four-inch long lass lies within a frame of gold braid and blue fringe, held in place by pins with colorful glass bead heads. The rest of the pincushion is almost as extravagant, with another circle of glass-headed pins, a band of brilliant red and blue ribbon, and a scalloped edge trimmed with a battalion of brass safety pins. The underside of blue felt is edged with a band of dark blue and bright red ribbon and the yellow ribbon forming the bell's bodice is tied underneath in a big bow. This is one knockout naddelkissen!

This china nude nymph perched on her original pincushion is by Gebruder Heubach and is pictured on a promotional postcard by the company, where she is called "Beim Aufsstehen" (when awakening). The nubile nude is 3 inches high and her art deco patterned pincushion pillow is 6.5 inches wide.

The prolific Hertwig and Company not only produced platoons of pincushion dolls, but also offered complete assemblies. This little raven-haired flapper in her scarlet swimming suit is attributed to Hertwig, and the company's catalogues show similar pincushions decorated with the same sort of thin striped ribbon. This diminutive damsel is 1.75 inches tall and is of good precolored china, and her petite pincushion adds another inch. The pincushion is stamped underneath in purple “Made in Germany.”

This bare bisque beauty is a known model by Hertwig. Only 2 inches long, this little lady is nearly dwarfed by her 6 inch long original oval pincushion, trimmed with fine lace and silk ribbon around edge. Made of sharp precolored bisque, this bare bather is incised "Germany" on edge of her right thigh.

The Five Barrisons in Bisque

Blonde, buxom, and bawdy, the Five Barrison Sisters once billed themselves as the "wickedest girls in the world." Granted they were performing in the 1890s, when the bar for wickedness was pretty low, but the five sisters (and they were indeed siblings) tantalized and titillated music hall audiences in Europe and the United States with their on-stage naughtiness. Often dressed in girlish costumes, the sisters would warble songs full of double-entendres and sexual suggestiveness. In their most famous act, first performed at the Wintergarten in Berlin in 1896, the sisters, clad in long frilly dresses and babyish bonnets, sang about "Mein Klein Katz" (My Little Cat) as they slowly and slyly lifted up their skirts, exposing ten black stocking-clad legs. At the end of the song, the sisters flipped up their skirts, exposing their "pussies, " as strategically tucked into the crotch of each of their bloomers was a rather bewildered-looking live kitten. This is an early publicity picture, taken while they were touring Europe.

This theater card was obviously influenced by the photograph. Not only did the artist exercise a bit of license in applying the brilliant colors to the sister's skirts, he crowned the last sister in line with raven tresses, even though all five were blonde. On the back of the card is printed "Volks-Theater Nur Noch Bis 30. Juni.

Another copy of the photograph, this time in bisque. German porcelain companies were quick to cash in on any fad, as this piece from H. Hutschenreuther Porzellanfabrik demonstrates, German companies often copied popular prints, photographs, and postcards of the day, and it is doubtful the the sisters earned any royalties from Hutschenreuther's charming creation. This figurine of the five is 6 inches high. It is incised "3064" and is faintly stamped with the company's mark underneath.

This is a picture of the mark stamped underneath.

Is This Mr. Tuffolino?

In 1879, Italian artist Odoardo Tabbachi created "La Tuffolina" (the diver). According to a June 21, 1879, supplement to Scientific American, the pictured sculpture was "immediately purchased by the King of Italy." The article continues: "The figure could hardly be rendered more beautiful, elegant, or sympathetic, nor more graceful in attitude, representing as it does the bather in the act of diving into the water as if she was an expert swimmer." The article reports that the lovely Tuffolina had so many admirers, "the fortunate sculptor will have difficulty to fill all the orders he has received for copies."

Tabacchi's delectable diver continued to attract admirers for decades, and many German firms, such as Dressel, Kister, and Company, produced their own adaptations of Ms. Tuffolina, in both bisque and china and in a wide variety of sizes, from diminutive damsels to super-sized sirens.

However, there is a very scarce male version (would he be El Tuffolino?). In all my years of collecting, I have only come across him twice before. This is one big boy, at 22 inches tall. For some reason, the other two Tuffolinos were also gigantic (at least in the world of bathing beauty figurines), and each was accompanied by an equally large lady counterpart.

He is of excellent sharp bisque and is extremely well sculpted, from the waves in his hair to the waves at his bare feet.

The painting is as well done and detailed as the modeling. Under his base, he is incised "No. 302" and "3."

Roman Psyche Reborn as a French Bathing Beauty

This bathing beauty is actually the top of a very big powder box. Standing 10 inches tall, she is made of ceramic and decorated in a bold art deco style.












If the pose appears familiar, the belle on the box is borrowed from the Bath of Psyche by Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-1896). Leighton did a bit of borrowing himself, as the pose of Psyche is based on an ancient statue of Venus he had seen in Naples. The Roman poet Lucius Apuleius sets out the legend of Psyche in his work The Golden Ass or Metamorphosis. Psyche was a beautiful mortal woman who became the paramour of Cupid.

A round paper label on the bottom of the box announces that it was made in France. Both the bottom of the box and the lid are incised "14029 R."