Featured Antique Snow Babies and "I've never seen this one before"

I bought a shelf lot at auction today because it had 9 or 10 snow babies in the lot.

For some reason, I didn't even notice this one. And it might be very rare because I can't find another one. I've googled the picture, searched on Worthopedia, searched google in general and nothing shows up. The closest I came was a kewpie standing on a globe with a tin base. This one has a cast iron base and the globe will turn.

Any ideas?

 

I love it!

 

Have you dated it by the globe?

Debora

 

I thought about that but haven't tried yet.

 

What a great idea! I can see "Persia" and the "Chinese Empire" so I googled those. AI says (with punctuation error):

"Persia officially changed its international name to Iran on March 21, 1935."

"China was most commonly labeled as the Chinese Empire on Western maps from the 17th century through the early 20th century. This naming convention was used primarily during the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1912), [sic] and had a brief revival on maps in 1915 when Yuan Shikai briefly declared himself emperor."

Vintagerobin can examine the globe for more historical nation names and possibly narrow the possible date. Or maybe someone with knowledge of old maps and globes can tell immediately.

 

Yes, I did look at those. But both "Persia" and "Chinese Empire" are romantic place names, like "Arabia". The African continent might be more definitive.

Debora

 

Deborah’s globe age suggestion inspired me. I never heard of snowbabies, so I googled and was told, “Early 20th Century: The concept originated in Germany in the early 1900s. These antique, bisque figurines became a major collecting trend after Admiral Peary’s trek to the North Pole in 1909 and Richard E. Byrd's flight over the South Pole in 1929.”

If maps said “Chinese Empire” through 1912 +1915, and snowbabies were popular 1909+, does this date the figurine to c. 1909-12 or -15? More information needed to shore up this possibility, like other archaic nation-names on the globe and how long would old globes continue to be used after names had changed. Note that the snowbaby seems to be seated somewhere near the Noth Pole. Is it directly on the pole? Does this tie it to Peary’s North Pole expedition and date the piece at c.1909-10?

(This is all from someone ignorant of snowbabies and based solely on quick internet information. So real experts on maps and snowbabies should weigh in.)

 

Another good idea! I cannot read any of the African names in the photo. Vintagerobin, can you show pictures of Africa and other areas of the globe or tell us what names appear?

 

The only unusual name I see on the African continent is Congo State.

Historical Context: Congo Free State

• Dates: 1885–1908
• Overview: Before becoming a Belgian colony, the DRC territory was privately claimed and ruled by King Leopold II of Belgium.

This is pretty much the time period I've always thought the German made snow babies are from.

 

Would you be kind enough to post a photograph so we can all see?

Debora

 

Part of Canada is also the British Dominion.

 

There's also the Turkish Empire. It became The Republic of Turkey in 1922.

 

The photos show that the snowbaby is seated on North Pole. According to AI on snowbabies, t"hese antique, bisque figurines became a major collecting trend after Admiral Peary’s trek to the North Pole in 1909...." That seems to explain why the snowbably is seated on the globe. That seems to narrow down the date to 1909 or shortly afterward and links the figurine with a historical event. The place names overlap this time frame. Does this seem a plausible association and date?

 

I found a Snow Baby collector book online and emailed the author.

"Hello Robin,
No I have never seen a snow baby piece like this one. The baby by itself is a very old and more valuable one, made by Limbach, but I believe someone has glued it to the globe. It did not come from the factory attached to a globe.
Sincerely,
Mary Morrison"

 

How helpful is that!

Debora

 

I also found out that the globe was probably a pencil sharpener originally. I thought it looked like the halves would come apart but was afraid to damage the globe.

 

That's why you need an expert.