Is there something you feel would add to the forum? If so, login and make your suggestion in the Board Discussion forum.

Author Topic: Mystery Lady  (Read 2658 times)

Offline Carolyn Preston

  • Board User
  • *
  • Posts: 248
Mystery Lady
« on: September 24, 2009, 12:36:43 AM »
And here is a new mystery for us...

This is my "Bonnie Lassie" (BL for short), a piece of what I believe may be Carnival Ware, which I have on good authority (Glen from the GMB) has little to no connection with the carnival glass that she is so knowledgeable about. Unfortunately.

She is 14 inches tall (including the base and the hat).

However, maybe somebody else knows about her, who made her, why she was made, etc.

Carolyn

Offline ChimpMad

  • Board User
  • *
  • Posts: 173
Re: Mystery Lady
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2009, 03:45:16 PM »
Not exactly Carnival Ware, but along the same lines! This type of simple, cast plaster figure was a cheaply made ornament (though quite decorative in its own right, especially nicely painted ones like yours), which were given away at fairs, fetes etc, and are generically known as 'Fairings'. The older ones from the early-late 19thC, which were usually earthenware or low-grade porcelain, are widely collected and can be quite valuable. Yours looks to date from around the 1950s, and these were often made by 'homeworkers'. They were simple to make as all that was needed was a rubber mould, a bag of plaster-of-paris and some paint, and as they were generally produced by amateur hands, such as housewifes making a little pin money, the quality of the finish varied greatly from very poor to very good. Yours looks to be one of the better ones, and though the value is very subjective, a collector would possibly pay upwards of ?20.00 for an example as nice as this, supposing that you could find the right collector..
If you always expect the worst you'll never be disappointed.

Offline Anne

  • tekniqual wizzerd
  • Board Admin
  • Board Super-hero
  • *****
  • Posts: 2215
  • Gender: Female
  • "La Grande Fromage" "caise gla mhor"
    • Yobunny Enterprises
Re: Mystery Lady
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2009, 04:37:12 PM »
Fairings used to be seen a lot when I was a child, my grannie had loads of them as she adored going to the fair and winning things! I was allowed to play with them, but none of hers was as big as yours Carolyn - 14" sounds big for a fairing - the ones grannie had were around 4" tall, certainly no bigger than 6".

Ohhh I just found this site about china fairings too: http://www.chinafairings.org/ - might be worth contacting them too about your wee lassie Carolyn.   :x-fingers:
Cheers!
 Anne

"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."

Offline antiquerose123

  • Board Super-hero
  • *****
  • Posts: 1739
  • Gender: Female
  • Say "YES" to Antiques........LOL
Re: Mystery Lady
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2009, 08:43:37 PM »
Did fairs not also give out items made of *CHALKWARE* ?

Click Here - Please  

Can you scratch a mark in the bottom with your fingernail, like you could with a piece of chalk Carolyn?  Or is it harder?
Every flower that has ever bloomed, had to go through a whole lot of DIRT FIRST......:flowers2:      
antiquerose123 (Rose) :rse:  

Offline Carolyn Preston

  • Board User
  • *
  • Posts: 248
Re: Mystery Lady
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2009, 03:34:50 AM »
Fairings used to be seen a lot when I was a child, my grannie had loads of them as she adored going to the fair and winning things! I was allowed to play with them, but none of hers was as big as yours Carolyn - 14" sounds big for a fairing - the ones grannie had were around 4" tall, certainly no bigger than 6".

Ohhh I just found this site about china fairings too: http://www.chinafairings.org/ - might be worth contacting them too about your wee lassie Carolyn.   :x-fingers:

I'm not feelng it here, Anne. These are way, way smaller than BL. And I get no special message with mine either.

I think Fairings might be just a British thing rather than international.

I thought it was chalkware, but according to Rose, that's not it, either. Off to check her link now.

Carolyn

Offline Carolyn Preston

  • Board User
  • *
  • Posts: 248
Re: Mystery Lady
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2009, 03:39:03 AM »
Okay Rose, I have now done the official scratch test. Failed miserably. Even with my fake nails, could not scratch a thing on the bottom of it. However, looking at your link (and some others I found) it does strike me as being very similar.

Carolyn

 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk