Italy makes sense as I believe that they are figures from the Commedia Del Arte.

Annie

Hi Annie,

I believe you are correct...in researching Commedia Del Arte, I remembered being told the "story" between the two statues, though I can't recall their names. Very interesting..I wish I could remember their names!
Any ideas as to who made them, time made, or value? How should I safely clean them?

Thank you for your response!

They are not typical Commedia Del Arte figures....but could be romanticized versions of any of the theatrical characters, such as Punch and Judy or Pierrot and Pirette or a romanticized harlequin.
There is/was many makers of fine porcelain figures through out Europe and in the US.. I really see nothing about the style that would indicate that they are as old as you say. The mask on the girl seems atypical to me. But I am not an expert on figurines, only a little bit of an expert on Rennaisance Drama.
As for cleaning, they are porcelain....soap and water. But, be careful not to break a finger....it's really amazing that all pieces seem to be intact after so many years and the history.
Linda c

Thank you for the response. I was told to use ivory soap and water, and a soft toothbrush, by my family, but wanted a second opinion. I will be careful no to break a finger, as they are all intact.

As far as the age, I know for sure that they were brought over on the boat in 1880, putting them at about 130 years old. I know for sure that they must be at least a few year older, as my great, great, great grandmother was known to have had them in Sala Consalina, Italy. The age I was guesstimating, based on verbal accounts from my family.

Since there are no markings on the bottom, what "clues" should I look for to identify a maker? It is possible that I missed something, if there is something subtle to look for.

Thanks again! Any more input would be greatly appreciated!

They were not made for export.....or were and might have had a paper lable?
The lack of any mark puzzles me a lot....are you sure there is no mark incised in the base anywhere? They appear to be fine work and as such wiould surely be marked in some way. 200 year old Capo Dimonte is marked as is Sevres etc.
Do some hard questioning of your family....see if Great great great grandma didn't possibly have some like that.
When I think of the immigrants from Italy who came to this country in the 1880's I believe most were very poor and travelles steerage with very little posessions. and 150 years ago figurines like those would have been very expensive, relatively speaking.
Families have a way of thinking things are older than they are.; Remembering my own Great great great grandmother's sugar bowl. Pressed glass and treated with great reverence because it was at least 100 years old ( that saidw hen I was a child!)....well, I finally inherited it and looked up the pattern and it was made first in 1910. It may have been her sugar bowl but she got it when she was about 80 years old.
I wonder if the Kovel site will accept pictures and give an opinion?
Linda c

I agree with Linda that while family stories can be fascinating, they can also be amazingly inaccurate. I once saw an electric sewing machine listed for sale that the family "knew" had come to the U.S. in the 1870s from Ireland with Grandma, who sewed on it in the covered wagon as they crossed the Great Plains. Because I collect sewing machines and am considered an expert on the particular company that made the machine in the ad, I knew that it was made in the 1920s. (At the very least, they should have realized that she couldn't have used an ELECTRIC machine in the wagon!) So, great story, just not a shred of truth in it!

Annie

I agree that family stories are often "colorful" but inaccurate. What I do know, for fact, is that we have a photograph from 1906 with family members...and you can see the statues in the photo.

I do know that our family made many trips back and forth from Italy, to pick up additional family members and personal items.

Beyond what I know for sure, I will have to verify stories.

What approximate year do you think these are from?

And after 2 and a half hours of cleaning....

(last 3 photos in gallery...2001, 2002, 2003)

Here is a link that might be useful: More Pictures

LOVELY! The photographic evidence can't be argued with, so you know for certain that they are at least 102 years old. The close-ups of the faces are certainly consistent with the romanticism prevalent in the Victorian age.

A long internet search certainly revealed the popularity of Commedia dell 'arte characters as porcelain and ceramic figures, going back to the 1700s. I'd look for the book "Harlequin Unmasked: The Commedia dell 'arte and Porcelain Sculpture" by Celia Wren and see if your sculptures appear in it.

Annie

There is something about these figures that keeps nagging at me....but I can't put my finger on it...exactly.
One...they are very finely made not to be marked.
Two, they are obviously a pair...but in all the "pairs" I see and cound find on the web, one of the figures faces left and the other faces right, in one the right foot is out in the other the reverse.
Secondly the boy wears the dress of a Jester and carries a jester's "bells" which the jesster of harlequin in the Commedia did not.
Thirdly she has a short skirt?? Why? Even peasant women or girls didn't wear short skirts before say 1910 or so....and certainly she's not dressed in that style!
Fourth, she wears a mask?? Why? Traditionally the men in the Commedia wore the masks not the women.
But if the figures don't represent characters from the Commedia, they what DO they represent?
And what factory made such finely cast and decorated stuff and didn't mark it??
I am channeling your great great great geandmother hoping she has some answers!!
Linda c

He lindac,
Very interesting points that you bring up!
Would a "short" skirt be considered one that rises to just under the knee? I should have researched this more, but it is late ;)
Damascusannie...I came across that book that you mentioned during research...I will try to get my hands on it and see if the sculptures appear in it.
I am at a loss for these statues...It is disappointing that there are no "identifying" features that "stand out"...The quality is so high and the workmanship is very detailed...A novice would think that it would be rather easy to pin-point a maker! ;(

The point of my questioning is I think you will find out more about these figures my NOT concentrating on Commedia del Arte figures, as they are not typical.
I think they represent different characters. If we knew the country of origin for sure that might help.
I am trying to make them Dante and Beatrice....and the Jester's bells a refrence to The Divine Comedy...
I know! I'm fishing!
Linda C

Linda brings up some excellent points. They could be figures representing two people at a costume ball (masque). That could explain the mask that the woman has, as well as her flirtatious manner.

Annie

Hmmm ....
A "masque" is not a masked ball....but ratehr a sort of elaborate play in which courtiers often participated dresses like a character in the play.
They differed from Commedia del Arte in that they were formally staged with scenery and planned scripts.
I can see that it might be a depiction of Prince "whoever" and his queen dressed as a jester and a shepardess for a masque.
But who, and when and by whom??

They look German to me. Could they be Heubach?

There's also a book about Heubach
http://www.amazon.com/Heubachs-little-characters-figurines-1850-1930/dp/0905956028

Heubach's little characters: Dolls and figurines 1850-1930

Here is a link that might be useful: Heubach figurine

I seem to see that pre-Raphaelite pout...a la Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
The features of thecharacters don't look German to me...not round enough...but they do look Italian.

I was thinking Heubach also -- Just the type of detail in the faces.

I have a Heubach figurine from between 1880 and 1910, and the mark is VERY hard to find. On my figurine, it is on the surface of the base rather than the underside, and is pretty darn ambiguous! In fact, I wasn't sure it even WAS a maker's mark until, after a lot of research, I came to suspect it may be Heubach and searched out Heubach marks, finally finding the same shape and eventually, even my exact figurine.

The 5th photo in the link below shows the Heubach hallmark - a round figure with a sunburst on the top half. Mine was not 'sharp' at all, and blended in with the background texture. And again, mine was on the visible surface (back), not the underside. I used a piece of tissue paper and a blunt pencil to do a 'rubbing' before I could even make it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heubach mark - see pic #5