Featured Antique Wax Figures

The doll experts cannot help me. Any thoughts? These stand 18-20" tall and are solid wax with glass eyes and very old

 

They're both praying, so my idle guess would be that they represent a donor couple and originally were part of a larger religious diorama. The fashions seem 17th C to me, and it is possible that they are that old. Don't know how likely that is.

 

Thank you. I was thinking that they had a puritan like appearance but will defer to those much more knowledgable than myself.

 

Well then, let's hope someone else chimes in.

 

I wouldn't say "puritan" with all the frills. French, perhaps?

Amazing that they haven't melted if they truly are that old.

 

Good point with the frills. I can see french. The gentleman is being supported by this wiring...perhaps due to heat exposure or a broken right ankle?

 

Ah. He does seem to be leaning and I wasn't sure whether that was intentional. Now I see that his shoe broke.

 

Not Puritans, for sure. French sounds about right.

 

Werent wax pictures and figures a late 1800's early 1900's fad ?

 

Costumes are Baroque. 1600s.

Debora

 

I have four wax Monks at the store. Because one has a beer stein, and all are round, jolly robed figures, I figured they were German.
The wax is very hard. My store can get very hot during the summer and the heat doesn't seem to effect them.

Looking at the glass doll's eyes, the way the stand is made, I'm thinking yours might be late 1800s early 1900s. I am only guessing.

 

You are right about the wax being extremely hard. Do you feel the stand is original or was put on sometime after the shoe broke? I am guessing that something was needed all along to balance the figure and perhaps the shoe broke while attaching but clearly a lot of guess work here.

 

My guess is that they are pair - meant to be together - and as such, both would originally have been free standing (or on matching bases). I think this base was added when those wire supports were put in place. Putting it on a base where those wires are stapled in place holds them rigid, prevents accidental flexing.

 

I'm not a doll person, know very little about doll collecting.
I was thinking about your figures and especially the eyes today as I looked at my monks. It dawned on me that there were dolls made of wax.

I did a quick google search. Yours are probably still figurines and not dolls, because the clothing is wax and not material. But at least you can investigate the process and get an idea what companies did this type of work.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wax...w1QKHWTYCfcQ_AUICSgC&biw=1340&bih=894#imgrc=_
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/261842165808984296/

 

We took them on antiques roadshow a couple of years ago and floyd jones, the doll expert had no idea.

 

I can't help thinking that they're meant to be specific, rather than generic, characters. From the pious poses and costumes that aren't contemporary to when they were made -- both odd choices so would have to mean something to someone.

Debora

 

Ah... Here's another pious pair.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0075/lot-dad5c7a2-1487-4f5e-a175-a50f011d9291

Debora

 

Interesting thought and much appreciated!

 

Here's a long shot: these two sited both show a history of prosthetic eyes / ocular prosthesis.

http://www.jahrling.com/History/History.htm
http://www.dallaseye.net/history-of-artificial-eyes.php

If you could get really good close-ups of the one of the eyes, perhaps one of the companies who posted those articles might be able to give you some sense of how old they are.

 

Wow. You are more resourceful and persistent than most! I love it!!