Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Can anyone help me identify this cat? It has odd markings that remind me of an owl, weird I know. There is nothing identifiable as to who made it. It's about 4" high.
so is this actually pottery? That's what it looks like
there is a type of Chilean pottery known as 'Pomaire' which is black earthenware with white marks. It is famous.
I didnt' see any cats but as you can see it does look a lot like this www.pinterest.es/
What is this ceramic figurine? Family collectible. Only marking on underside is the number. If there was an identifying mark it was obliterated. Thank you in advance!
She is a little Dutch girl figurine--unbranded, made to give the appearance that she may be a Hummel or LLadro or other big name brand.
Because of her finish, her gloss, and the high quality of the painting, I would think she was mass produced (unless she was done by a professional in a class)--which I suppose is a possibility, but I have seen others like her at the flea market and they were always mass produced.
Do you know where she originated? She could have been something picked up in a tourist shop in Europe or a dime store in the US. You said she was a family collectible so her value may be priceless if she is cherished for the memories!
Sadly even if she was a Hummel or LLadro her value would be much less than she cost new. The market for knickknacks is at the worst I have ever seen it in my lifetime.
If she was mine, I would list her as an unbranded Dutch girl figure oversized clogs. Start her at $25 and take best offer which could be as low as $1.
Post back how your sale goes, if that is your intent! Blessings!!
She is very pretty.
I agree that she was probably from a company that mass produced this style of figurines and could have been made in a foreign country or even the US.
I remember seeing similar dolls when my children and I visited local 5 & 10 cent stores like Murphy's, Kress, Woolworths, etc..
These dolls were produced copying the Goebel, Hummel, Lladro, figurines for the 'working class' people who could not afford the high prices of these brand name figurines.
You did not ask about value but it is generally assumed that someone asking this ID question also wishes to know the value.
There are literally thousands & thousands of this type figurine listed for sale and not very many selling - no matter the price (over 1,200 figurines listed on Etsy alone using the line; vintage ceramic Dutch girl figurine').
I hope you like your treasure and if it has sentimental value to anyone then hopefully, they will find a nice place to display it in their home.
I have these little farmer and shopping girl figurines. She has a basket and blue dress with a black vest, and a little white dog by her feet. She is wearing brown shoes, yellow socks, with a black band on top of her socks. The sign says, to town. The little boy has a yellow hat, grey shirt, what looks like
These are Erich Stauffer Figurines! They were created as...my understanding...as an homage to Hummels. Sadly both these and Hummels have very little resale value at the moment.
Erich Stauffer Figurines average $3-$10 in sold prices.
Fun find! Enjoy!
Sadly there are so many figurines available (even the Dollar Tree has similar figurines from time to time) that even most Hummel's have very little value.
These are Erich Stauffer figurines but more specific; they are made by Arnart. This company did not have the best reputation and apparently produced several 'fake' versions of name brand figurines.
Apparently, many people believe the name 'Erich Stauffer" is fake and no one by this name ever existed.
Here are excerpts from a history website:
"Arnart is known by its crown and crossed arrow symbols on the bottom, some of which are printed with numbers in a series in porcelain or on a sticker. Erich Stauffer designed fake Hummels, which used a crown symbol.
Some people place Erich Stauffer figurines back to 1940 because of the United States ban on imports from Germany during World War II.
However, Arnart Creation was not founded until 1953, eight years after the end of World War II on August 15, 1945."
Here is a link to that web site in case someone wishes to read their history. Article is from 2013 but it appears the value listed still holds true in today's market.
www.erichstauffer.com/
You can check out the sold listings on eBay to see what people are currently paying for this type figurine.
www.ebay.com/
From all of this it would appear your figurines were made after 1953 and the value is probably approximately $5-35.
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.
Hey ThriftyFun, I have this pig figurine signed by Roy. Who is Roy? Is he prolific? Is his work sought after?
How much could I possibly sell Roy's creation for? Thank you ThriftyFun.
Cannot find anything in my research. Looks like an older movie star. Appreciate your help!
The Japan mark suggests after 1952 when the term "occupied Japan" stopped being used.
The holes on the bottom suggest it was a molded piece.
The women does look like a cross between Vivian Leigh and Judy Garland (to me). The dog is odd...which I thought would make it easy to find. It is probably mass produced--I was at first thinking it was a ceramics class piece until I saw the Japan marking.
Dog figurines are always popular. Maybe just list it as a vintage woman figurine with dog marked Japan and let the market dictate the value.
Post back what you decide!
The mark "JAPAN" was used not only in 1952-today - POST-WAR MADE IN JAPAN ERA, but also in 1921-1941 EARLY MADE IN JAPAN ERA ("GOLDEN AGE"). The U.S. Customs Bureau ruled that "Nippon" was no longer an acceptable synonym. As of August 1, 1921 all goods were supposed to be backstamped "JAPAN". Unmarked pieces sometimes slipped through Customs, but most of the Japanese ceramics from 1921 to 1941 are marked either "JAPAN" or "MADE IN JAPAN".
When the Occupation ended in 1952, marks no longer contained the work "Occupied" so pieces were again marked only with "JAPAN" or "MADE IN JAPAN". Prior to WWII, paper labels were flimsy and the glue was often not strong, so the Customs Bureau usually made importers replace the labels with indelible ink backstamps. In the 1950s, technology improved and paper labels were allowed. This is when the paper label era really began.
The backstamp of your figurine is applied with indelible ink. This means that it was made either in 1921-1941 or in 1952-1960s. But the face of lady is done very well, so I think it was probably done in the late 1950s. Maybe that's why the quality of the dog is not very good. But the exact period is really very difficult to determine.
Your figurine is hand painted. You can write Vintage Porcelain Woman with Dog Hand Painted Made in Japan 1952-1960.
Can anyone help me identify these vintage figurines and their value?
Who is the creator of this figurine?
I found a few other figurines that were marked Switzerland or another name on the stand like this one. None of them are the same as yours but it does look like they are all similar in one respect. They are all VINTAGE INNSBRUCK SWITZERLAND TOURIST SOUVENIR. I think this company made different figures that were sold in tourist shops around Switzerland. I see this had a sticker on the bottom of it that is now half torn off. There are no real markings on the bottom beside the torn sticker. That is why I feel this is a souvenir from Switzerland that was sold in many small shops.
My wife bought this figure in a New York market decades ago, a girl? Anyone know what it is, make, origin etc, looks Swiss, German or Dutch.
Anyone seen similar as a matching boy would keep her company. No markings at all, felt on soles of feet.
Very cute! It may be a DELEE POTTERY piece, although I am not sure if they are marked or not. The piece maybe marked under the felt, but sadly you risk damage if you try to remove the felt.
Are you asking to sell? You could always just call it unbranded and list the height and coloring. Most figurines have little value in the resale world. You could always start at $25 and take best offer.
Thanks for sharing!
Does anyone know who made this little bear. He is a bank but there is no marks that I can find that will help identify him. I am assuming he is from the 50s, I tried to use Google Lens but nothing came up.
The number on the bottom of the bear indicates this is a mold from a ceramic shop. A person has purchased this mold in a ceramic class and made it. That is why you are not finding any identifying marks on the bottom of this piece. I have seen tons of molds like this when I use to take my grandmother to her ceramics class. The molds normally sold for 3 - 5 dollars. The person would buy the mold, paint it and then fire it. These are low fire clay molds and normally the class pours them themselves and marks the number on the bottom when sold.
This is from a mass produced mold kit. It doesn't have a collectors value. It is valued at under $15.
I cannot identify the stamp. I believe the letters are either m I o or w I o. Also I think it is a hammer or mallet.
I am not sure if it's worth anything. Thank you all for your help.
From the looks of the stamp it is a Chinese stamp that was put on items like this. The stamp is very hard to read but I do see some Chinese symbols on the stamp. The image is very hard to see in your photo but you might be able to find it here on this site. gotheborg.com/
Your piece has the look of a Lladro, but the pattern is not one I know and the symbol blurs so much on both of my screens that I can't match it. Here is a link to the markings Lladro used:
Post back if you think it is a match and then I can offer additional guidance. Meanwhile I am going to go through a couple of my resources based on the design. Thanks!
This was my father's and probably from the 1940s. There are no markings on the bottom.
No markings on these often mean they were those made to imitate Hummels and Erich Stauffer pieces. Both of these brands were typically marked on the bottom in a way that cannot be removed.
The imitation pieces often had paper tags or no tags which makes them almost impossible to identify today unless someone has the exact piece and was the original purchaser. Since this was a 1940s piece that is going to be harder and harder to find people with that good a memory :).
The subject matter (cowboy) is still quite popular among figurines, but since even the brand name pieces never recovered in value from the 2008 market crash (there is a very rare Hummel Cowboy on a horse that used to sell in the high hundreds "back in the day" that now resells in the $50 to $120 range), the unmarked pieces may sell, but average $10-$15 each on the high end, and some times as low as $1-2.00.
He is super cute! If you are trying to sell him, you can always start him high and take best offer, knowing it may be a low one.
Thanks for sharing!
If you can't find any type of marks on this it is impossible to identify the piece and give you any type of information about it at all. Normally figurines from well-known companies mark the bottom with an etching or something that can't be removed. If this is a replica then it more than likely had a paper tag on the bottom that has fallen off years ago. You could try to take it to a vintage shop but I do not think they will be of much help to you.
Wondering if anyone knows anything about these figurines and if they are worth anything?
My mother found these years ago at an estate sale. I'm trying to find out if there are more pieces in the collection.
I haven't been able to find much or if they are rare.
