I'm just learning about identifying treasures. I have so many questions! I guess my first is about this little chicken miniature. Who would this be attributed to? Any idea how old? I don't see any markings.
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Lefton used these colors a lot in their 1970s-1980s ceramics, however the eyes aren't Lefton like. If you look at Lefton on Google images you will see the eyes are more stylized and yours are more primitive.
Is there any ghosting of a sticker? Like a clean spot on the base that would stand out from the "dirtier" rest as if it was brighter? Sometimes of a sticker is ghosted you can match the shape. Lefton had an unusual sticker which of you got to eBay or Etsy and look at their items you can see what a sticker looked like and can match the ghost sticker shape. Most of the made in China items of later years were tiny ovals so a ghost mark like that would point to a lesser quality of more mass produced brand.
Does the base have a hole is us it solid? Leftons had mostly holes and rough bottoms.
It is fun starting a new collection and the knowledge will follow.
Searching ebay and etsy and looking at details like stickers, edges, bottoms, brush marks, strikes, colors, and patterns will help you learn values and such.
Always collect what you though and put value inn the back burner because values are regional and subjective and come and go in waves.
When country motifs were big in the 1980s, farm animal figurines were super popular and ever brand made them. This trend was also popular in the 1940s.
Values would also be determined rarity, for example if I had my Nana's 1940s ceramic farm animals in good shape they may have value because so few survive while the quantity of 1980s pieces are plentiful and high supply and low demand drives prices down.
Enjoy the learning and collecting!!
I do absolutely love our time spent rummaging! And I certainly don't expect to "get rich quick", but there's something so amazing about holding something super old in your hands...it's almost like the closest thing to time travel. It's really magical. I have a dime from 1902 and it's in TERRIBLE condition...but just holding it and staring at it and thinking what the world was like 120 years ago and feeling it between my fingers...it's just such a cool experience.
Unfortunately there is not even a ghost of a sticker or marking on this chicken piece, and that's awesome that you mentioned the eyes, because I did note how primitive they are as well...and it kind of stood out to me because it looks like the painter put at least a LITTLE effort into making the feathers somewhat more detailed...and then phoned it in on pretty much everything else!
Without any identifying marks...it may be difficult to find the manufacturer. There are approximately 3,785 results for chicken figurines on ebay:
This appears to be a massed produced item, that can be purchased in a multitude of stores. There are no markings or signatures, to collaborate it's history. Perhaps a professional can help- https://www.askantiqueexperts.com
Look on the bottom for some kind of identifying mark. It will be impossible to identify without one.
Sorry, but without more information, it will be difficult to answer your questions.
Since there is no provenance provided this could be almost any date - even just last year.
Thank you so much for your reply! I did indeed get it at a thrift store last week, how did you know? (Winky emoji thingy) My 6 year old daughter picked it out, and there are zero markings on it and nothing at all like it comes up with an image search. Its pretty crude, but still just absolutely charming and it definitely seems to have some age to it. I'm stumped but I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open. Wow, what a learning curve! I wish I could just download all the knowledge into my brain, but since I can't, I guess I'm in for years of fun AND disappointment (laughing emoji) because I do believe I've been bitten by "the bug" as it were!
Thanks again for your kind reply.
You are most welcome.
It is nice to have something small to collect as you can always find a 'place' for these cute little things.
You would probably enjoy finding items for one of the window boxes and many times you can find one of those for a few dollars at one of your thrift stores.
My daughter and I have spent many enjoyable hours mulling around in our thrift stores. She also has some items she 'found' when the stores were called 'rummage' stores so encourage your daughter to enjoy finding and keeping these 'treasures'.
I think this figurine is from circa 1930s or 40s
Vintage Hen Figurine Royal Copley $45
www.etsy.com/
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