need advice/history on collectible

not sure about the history on this collectible all i know is our family bought it 57 years ago in torquay, devon UK in an antique shop and not many were made. found out by the ebay antique community that it has a karl ens stamp, but they could not give much history about it either. approximately 7 inches from nose to tail, 4 inches from feet to body and the body is about 3 inches in width i've added photos below






does anyone out there know anything about this lion??

 

I know nothing about this, but had you seen this? I love the detailed sculpting on the lion.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/hobbies-co...rcelain-antique-rare-lion-figurine/1097207525


Or... is that your listing? I notice similarities in the photos.

 

yes that is a posting of mine, still no closer to finding out it's history though, and i agree the detail is spectacular

 

Rontgen lists 4 marks for this company and they're willing to put more restricted dates on three of them, but this mark apparently spans the history of the company 1898-1972. Your family history puts this no later than the 1950s. This figurine is the type of thing Ens did, and production of a popular item could continue for decades. The modelling of this is not sufficiently distinctive to suggest a stylistic period to me. Apart from saying its from the 1950s or earlier, you may not be able to find anything more specific.

 

It was a limited edition collectible item. Just cant seem to find another image of it on the web and its bugging me

 

How do you know it was a limited edition item?

 

My grandmother has told me that the antique shop owner said it was a limited edition collectible when they bought it in 1964 in Devon. Spent 3 weeks wages on it.

 

That's a lot of money.

 

In those days it was yes

 

If the shop owner had any evidence it was a limited edition, he would surely have given it to them. You can't call it such based on what he said in his sales pitch.

 

3 weeks wages is a lot of money for anyone ...at any time in history, to purchase a little porcelain figure.

& 57 years ago was not 1964.

and Janet makes a good point.

 

My grandmother has told me that the antique shop owner said it was a limited edition collectible when they bought it in 1964 in Devon. Spent 3 weeks wages on it.

Almost invariably, ANYTHING produced as a limited edition collectable item and called just that has no special value after 50 years. Once the hype evaporates ant the fashion moves on, things are just what they are and are valued accordingly. Fancy plates, ceramic lions or Beanie Babies, it's all the same in the long run. After a while, the merit of the article as art or artifact is the sole determinant of desirability.

PS I have never heard of this maker in decades of haunting auction rooms. I'll admit that I was not looking for ceramics, but to me this animal looks like Beswick.

Plus it is not unknown for antique dealers to say absolutely anything, mores the pity, or to have shops stuffed with brand new off the boat 'antiques' to sell to the unwary.

 

Here is an Karl Ens lion that sold recently on eBay, but in a different position. You have probably seen it, but in case not...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lion-Cat-Animal-Decoration-Porcelain-Figurine-Ens-German-/171636874033?pt=Antiques_Decorative_Arts&hash=item27f65adb31&nma=true&si=7fExokl1Gkg6Ao0Qli4nwH2aBLU%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Other Ens animals on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=karl ens Lion&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&_udlo=&_udhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=&_sargn=-1&saslc=1&_salic=1&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=200

This one on WorthPoint is like yours.
http://www.worthpoint.com/classifieds/very-rare-1919-limited-edition-karl-ens-lion

--- Susan

 

the op's is much nicer......but that's still good info Lady !!

 

http://www.worthpoint.com/classifieds/very-rare-1919-limited-edition-karl-ens-lion

Wonder how this person came up with a 1919 date and "the last one in the world" statement - Lot of rubbish

If you look at the completed auctions for the person who sold the sitting lion. They had a large collection of Ens.

 

The lion mold looks like a copy of the French sculpture by Bayre. I think the actually title was something like "Aging Lion".

 

It does remind me of Beswick in the quality of the sculpting and coloring.
(A few years back after my Mom passed away I was selling a bunch of her stuff, including a Beswick ceramic cow that she had always said was very valuable. The Beswick collector's guide had a suggested value of $800. I sold it on ebay to a collector in the UK, for $825. Mom was right!)
It is certainly worthwhile to do one's research.