Posted 9 years ago
zappe
(1 item)
My father collected high-end Federal period antique furniture, by Duncan Phyfe, Sheraton and Hepplewhite among others. He also owned and has passed onto me two porcelain statues that I think are unique as a set. They are (he told me) English work from around 1850. One is a very nice statue of Ben Franklin - full figure, holding a book, about 14" tall with "Franklin" written on the base.
The other is a competitor's attempt to sell a similar statue. It is a close copy, but somewhat less skillful. What makes it especially fun and interesting is that its maker mistakenly put "General Washington" on its base instead of "Franklin".
I'd love to know how rare that second statue is.
It may be that the figurines were created fro the same mould, then sold to decorating companies to paint, which means there will be differences in the quality of the work, and of course with a few changes, the could make a different character.
If you google with the word figurine, rather than statue, you will see more examples