Featured Big Ol' French girl with an iddy biddy clock – Signature??

Got this plaster clock statue today with a signature on it that is a little hard to
decipher. She's 61.5cm(24.2”) high and only 5.1Kg as she's thankfully hollow .
Had nightmares about her being solid and weighing a ton but she's beautifully
hollow cast. At the back is “depose” and “132” which as I understand it means
the number 132 has been registered for this model. Not sure how to track down early registration numbers in France so if anybody can tell me please do so.
There is also a signature above the “depose” lettering. It almost looks like
“G.Vin.VanGough” but not sure. Could be the original sculptor of this model
rather than the manufacturer. To find the manufacturer I suspect I'm going to
have to track down the company who registered the number 132 in France.
The clock is a no name special which fortunately works which is always
a good thing when trying to re-sell this stuff. These seem to be from around
circa 1900 but will defer to the experts. Any ideas as to the manufacturer and date??

Cheers
Stephen

 

For best visibility of the signature, you could make a rub of it with a thin paper and a pencil
Déposé was used too in Germany... 132 is certainly the number of the model.
I have a feeling your nice lady isn't French

 

Rubbing didn't work too well but under less lighting and with the light at a different angle I could work out the marks a little better and got this.


Getting closer
Cheers
Stephen

 

Could be German. Found this similar statue/clock.
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/510...eau-lart-french-maiden?show_sold_out_detail=1
Cheers
Stephen

 

Stephen, your big ol' French-German girl is Belgian. She is lovely, btw. And much better quality than that German kitsch girl.
The original was made by Belgian sculptor Gustave van Vaerenbergh, 1873-1927. More of his work:
http://www.artnet.com/artists/gustave-van-vaerenbergh/

A little clue for future searches: When you see a surname that starts with 'van', think Dutch or Belgian. When you see it together with a French term, think Belgian. Not a golden rule, but it usually helps.
It also helps when the piece is signed properly, of course.

 

Thank you AJ. That solves a few problems. Think the clock probably dates it around 1900-1920. Don't think we will ever know who made it but that doesn't really matter in the overall scheme of things.
Cheers
stephen

 

I agree, the important name is Gustave van Vaerenbergh, and it is his signature.

 

It might have actually come from his studio. Just found this.
https://auction.catawiki.com/kavels...gh-1873-1927-art-nouveau-plaster-porte-montre
It has depose 135 on it. They thought it was a watch holder but it looks about the same size as my clock. Of course they could be exaggerating the "came from his studio" bit.
Cheers
Stephen

 

Just found this on the German wiki:
"Viele seiner Arbeiten sind im Jugendstil (belgisches „art nouveau“) ausgeführt. Auch in dem Genre der Kamin-Ensembles hat er viele typische 3er-Sets geschaffen: das Zentralobjekt, zum Beispiel eine Uhr, wird dabei von zwei Ziervasen eingefasst.
Die meisten seiner Arbeiten wurden nach seinen Modellen in gebranntem Gips oder Terra-Cotta in einer Bildhauerwerkstatt in Schaerbeek, einem Stadtteil von Brüssel angefertigt."

Translation
Many of his works are executed in Jugendstil style (Belgian "art nouveau"). He has also created many typical sets of three in the genre of mantlepiece ensembles: the central object, for example a clock, with two ornamental vases on either side. Most of his work was copied in plaster or terracotta in a workshop in Schaerbeek, a district of Brussels.

It sounds like he worked with the workshop, not necessarily his own workshop.

 

Amazing work as usual AJ.