Any help on these figurines would be appreciated

Inherited these along with LOTS of other ceramic items from the 19th century. I recall be told that they were used to hold thin strips of wood or reeds (held in the tree trunks) that would be used to move a fire when the evening came. Something like that. I don't know if the age is contemporaneous with the children's clothing style, or if the figures are meant to be nostalgic. Any help in dating these would be great!!!!! Poor boy lost his head MANY years a go but I wouldn't touch the glue at this point. PS sorry that the pics seem to show up more than once. I only uploaded each one once, but I'm doing something wrong. My apologies.

 

How you got the duplicate pictures: you clicked on show "all" full size and then you also clicked on full size for each thumbnail.

Not a problem. I'd rather look at duplicates at full size than have to click on individual thumbnails over & over again. lol

They would be called spill vases: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spill_vase

Very sweet they are!

 

They look very nice!!!! So sorry the Queen must have "Offed" the one's head at some point in time!! Wondering if it can be re-glued less visible or not??? Or just leave it be............?

 

Many thanks for the wiki reference for spill vases. They are very sweet, the boy is drawing a house, and girl has a book she is reading while knitting. Her knitting needles are missing, but there are very small holes for them in her fingers. She has her legs crossed properly at the ankles, while he crosses his at the knee. Any idea of the age? I know there is a name for the kind of outfit he is wearing but I don't remember it.

 

Others will know better than I do, but I'd date them late 1800s to early 1900s.

 

Clothing Regency era, of course. Those don't look very old to my eye. Wonder if anyone else agrees.

Debora

 

Hi,
I would soak the piece in very warm water to dissolve the glue and re glue the head. It will look 100 percent better. I agree with Debora, the painting is so soft and undamaged it just yells newer to me. They are beautiful.
greg

 

Thank you for your tip about the clothing. I can tell you this for sure about the minimal age--I saw them in my husband's grandmothers curio cabinet over 50 years ago and she said then, back in the 1970, that they were quite old. But I'm here to learn and appreciate anything anyone can tell me.

 

Actually the head was glued as it is now back in the 1960s so I would not touch it myself. They are quite dirty though but I've been afraid to wash them. The finish is not glazed, so I don't know what protection the paint has.

 

These are most likely German, late 19th/early 20th c. Conte and Boehm made many.

 

Hi,
It is very costly to find candles for these sticks. I buy large candles and drill holes in the bottom for them to fit.
greg

 

I wouldn't submerge them in water because of the firing hole in the bottom, but a gentle, warm water wash with a mild dish soap isn't going to hurt them (except maybe for the old glue). Test a small spot on the back with some soap suds on a washcloth first. Should be color-fast on old bisque.

 

@gregsglass

did you post on the wrong thread?

 

Hi,
Soooo Sorry. I wonder if the mods could move it to the right post. The one about the church candlestick.Att @daveydempsey.
greg

 

So we know they date to at least the 1970s. IMO, the execution of the hat styles just isn't right for antiques. (No one has to tell me she's wearing a mop cap.) And the lack of nuance to the painting. I could easily believe they're 1960s though.

Debora

 

A quick internet image search brings up some late 19th century German bisque figures. Compare the execution of the mop caps and the painted decoration on the first figure in the back row with the OP's female figurine. This is why I believe they are retro rather than antique.

Debora

 

I appreciate the research into similar figures. I recall my grandmother-in-law telling me in the early 1970's she recalled the thin strips of wood in the spills being used to start a fire from embers. And that these figures were on the mantle when she was growing up in late 19th early 20th century. I just don't know if the spills were her mother's or her grandmother's. Late 19th century sounds like a good fit for belonging to either one.