miniature piano baby?

dear all

these babies are 2 3/4" to 3" long. there is no mark.
are they japanese copies of bisque german?
any idea when they were made? early 1900s?

regards
phaik hooi

 

Hi Phaik! Adorable are they. However you will need closeups, especially of their faces. From what I can see they could be German.

I think that they are generally marked (Germany) as a rule.

"Piano baby is a collector's term. About 1880, the well-decorated home had a shawl on the piano. Bisque figures ofbabies were designed to help hold the shawl in place. They range in size from 6 to 18 inches. Most of the figures were made in Germany."

 

I've seen smaller piano babies than 6-18 inches. These are marvelous - especially since you seem to have a large set. There was probably one more - another girl. Still, I'd keep them together to sell.

 

dear judy and bev aka
these are definitely not german piano babies. i was shown a german figurine on my other thread, it was beautiful!
these are tiny, only 3" at it's longest and because the artwork is so awful closeup i have 25 pieces in total and i think 6 different designs. still they do look pretty cute from a distance ...

 

I rather think Japanese with the big holes in the bases.

 

these japanese copies, do you think they are probably pre WWII?

after the war, japanese products had the "made in occupied japan" mark and then later just "made in japan" or artist's mark cos i have other little figurines bearing those. these ones had no mark and i was hoping to date them.

regards
phaik hooi

 

It's possible that they had labels/stickers on them. The color of the labels can be a clue, but without them, and no markings, it's probably anyone's guess....

They are cute even tho they lack quality.