This is another of my very rare Schafer & Vater antique collectables.
It is one of a series of quirky figures by S&V that I have for sale in my online shop.
They are all very rare and hard to source and are special items for the specialist collector of early 20th century Schafer and Vater porcelain models.
This little figure is exceptionally rare and a most collectable one - reflected in my price here.
The model is a comical figure lampooning women's fashion. In the Edwardian era, there was a mania for massive fancy hats - the bigger the better! This figurine mocks this trend. It has the following lettering around the base: Cherchez La Femme (translating as: look for the woman). And ooh la la... she is dressed only in her underwear!
The hat is on a nodding mechanism - and when it is tipped backwards - ah! there she is - a wee lady obscured by his massive bonnet. This figurine is exception rare - probably due to the fact that it is so delicate and probably not that many were made in the first place. I have been unable to find another - so perhaps that elusive one to complete your S & V nodders collection.
Height: just over 4 inches.
It is in excellent vintage condition.
These antique pieces of German porcelain novelties are now hard to find.
Displays very well. POSTAGE WOULD BE WITH UK Royal Mail Tracked - this would cost £4.95. Postal discounts would apply - any overpayment in postage would be refunded. to you.
HISTORY: The company was founded by Gustave Schaefer and Guenther Vater in Germany in 1890. By 1896 the business was so successful that they were able to expand to the List Porcelain Factory at Neuhaus.
The company aimed at producing high-quality items in hard-paste porcelain - and it made luxury items, including figurines and dolls' heads. They also produced a range of soft-paste porcelain items such as small liquor bottles which were distributed in pubs etc.
Schafer & Vater were better known for their comical and figural items. They manufactured these in teapots, jugs, creamers, bottles, match strikers, and planters, with a backstamp impressed with a crown above an 'R' in a star. 'Made in Germany' was sometimes stamped in black. Occasionally, Schafer & Vater pieces appear without any stamps or reference to their origin, but they are easy to recognize due to their characteristics and unique craftsmanship, and unusual design.
Their wonderful novelty figures were always very popular in the States - and by 1910 the American firm of Sears Roebuck & Co began to import and distribute Schafer & Vater pottery items.
In 1913 Paul Schafer had taken over from his father and, working alongside Gunther Vater, built up a successful workforce of around 200 people. In 1918 the factory was destroyed by fire and they set up a new factory to resume production.
Sadly, the firm closed in 1962, and in1972 the East German government assumed full control of the vacant factory and their records and moulds were destroyed - so no further figures could be produced.