Historical information
This fine white unglazed porcelain figurine is one of six donated together. The bisque material was easy to carve and allowed fine detail. Figurine ornaments were popular for table decorations between the mid-18th to early 19th centuries. This ornament was likely made in Germany, and German manufacturers began to use bisque material to make realistic faces for dolls in the 1850s.
Significance
The set of six bisque figurines is representative of popular table decorations during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Physical description
Fine unglazed white porcelain ornament, hollow inside. It is carved to represent a peasant girl and goat with a vase shaped like a tree stump in the background. The ornament has remnants of gold, red, brown and green paint. There is an inscription on the base.
Inscriptions & markings
"3943:
Subjects
- warrnambool,
- shipwrecked-coast,
- flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum,
- maritime-museum,
- shipwreck-coast,
- ornament,
- flagstaff hill,
- flagstaff hill maritime museum and village,
- maritime museum,
- maritime village,
- great ocean road,
- shipwreck coast,
- bisque,
- china ornament,
- white china ornament,
- german,
- germany,
- porcelain,
- unglazed porcelain,
- 19th century,
- 18th century,
- european ornament,
- pottery,
- unglazed pottery,
- domestic ornament,
- decoration,
- table decoration,
- girl and goat,
- vase
References
- Wikipedia : Bisque pottery Bisque carving and dolls' faces
- Carter's Price Guide to antiques 19th century French and German bisque figurines
