Porcelain Horse Figurines

Hi All,

Newbie here, joining under sad circumstances. One half of my very much loved mare and foal figurine set has met an untimely end.

Naturally I know nothing about them, where they came from, their age etc - all I know is where I got them from (my late Grandparents )
This morning I've been googling them to see if I might be able to find out anything about them but I have no idea where to start. Obviously googling "mare and foal figurines" gets me nowhere.

I doubt they're anything more than mass produced knick-knacks - They've been in my family for at least 24 years.

So...does anyone recognise my Mare and Foal?

Stamp under mare says "xs 103 A", foal says "xs 103 B"

Sorry - can't seem to post images.

https://flic.kr/p/N7aEnF
https://flic.kr/p/NbE9tL
https://flic.kr/p/NeLJuF
https://flic.kr/p/MMxivu

 

Here are your photos. Welcome to the board.

 

Glad to meet you, sad for the circumstances. I personally can't assist, but there are any number of members who are knowledgeable about ceramics or who can point you in the correct direction for investigating the information you are looking for. Good Luck!

 

I collect everything horse. These figurines are Made In Japan pieces almost certainly. I think they were intended to be bookend form. They are not terribly common as I don't recollect ever seeing them. Keep searching on Ebay under "MIJ" or "Made In Japan" or even just "Japan Horse" and maybe throw "Bookend" in also although if there is just one I wouldn't count on someone identifying it as such.

 

I have found several Goebel figures with that X.S. imprint with an accompanying number. Haven't figured out what it means yet though.

Here's a couple of links...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Zone-Ger...717491?hash=item568e9b1c73:g:ArgAAOSwNRdX4H7M

http://www.artifactcollectors.com/i...ds-incised-xs-726-a-b.-incise...-5351917.html

http://www.antique-hq.com/find-out-the-value-of-your-hummel-figurine-322/
.

 

Open mouth insert foot! They are indeed Goebel apparently and rare to boot. I found this trace of them identified as such but the listing is long gone when you click on it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Goe...UICSgC&biw=1680&bih=913#imgrc=C5101y-3IUVwuM:

 

Edit: A sincere thank you for posting my images too. Very much appreciated - I couldn't figure it out.

Yup - A friend on another forum managed to find a link to Goebel and I have confirmed with the mark that's what it is.

I think the xs - stands for / is associated with the book end style of figure.

Thank you all for your input - very much appreciated.

 

Yes. I have spent all day looking and have not seen one quite the same on ebay.

I'm dreadfully sad - it meant so much to me personally.

 

Superspanger, I'm sorry for your loss. Were you hoping to find a replacement for the broken one? If so, you can try putting searches into eBay that will run daily and send emails to you if a match to the search words is found. If these are rare, though, you might not find a knowledgeable seller who uses the right keywords. You could also put in generic words like "mare," "foal," and "figurine." This will get you more results, most of which will not be what you are seeking.

 

Here they are.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Goebel-Horse-Bookends-XS-181-/371728939340?hash=item568cc5794c:g:AwEAAOSwknJXxHIO&nma=true&si=%2F7vKWUJ4932E4vXXCHDoX1Wv%2F3I%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

--- Susan

Edit: Opps, Sorry they are not the same. Yours is standing and these are rearing up.

 

The pic of the horse & foal bookends buyingtime... found in reply #6 has a pic of the Goebels mark at the top right of the pic. I enlarged, zoomed in on the pic in hopes of seeing that mark better. It appears to be Goebel's "Full Bee" that was used from 1940 to 1959. It appears to be the large bee flying in the V that was used until c1956. In 1956 the bee was "reduced in size and lowered into the V."

Yours probably has the bee mark incised or stamped somewhere on the bottom possibly under the label.
http://www.onlinecollectibles.com/faq/hummelmarks.htm

--- Susan

 

If I can find a "replacement" I will buy one - but I am hoping to have my girl fixed as she's very special to me. And I agree with you regarding ebay - anything correctly identified as a goebel is likely to be priced accordingly. I don't know that I have the heart to trawl daily notifications for "mare and foal" figurines

They're pretty cute.

Yes - I have found the mark - thank you.