Help - Unmarked Fine Porcelain Girl Figurine

Hello all, first time poster here, so forgive any mistakes!

I recently aquired a porcelain figurine of a girl, kneeling down next to a footstool, trying on jewellery from a small casket. It is very finely modelled, and the quality of the porcelain itself does suggest manufacture by one of the better quality figurine producers.

However it is painted overglaze, almost in a crude fashion, quite thickly, though attention to detail has been paid to the hair and facial features. The paint is flaking off, as can be seen, maybe suggesting the "blank" figurine was purchased, and then painted at a later date, at art school or similar?

There are no marks at all on the piece, impressed or printed (I've had a very good look). The underneath of the base does remind me of the way earlier Royal Worcester figurines were made, with the unglazed base rim extending over the recessed base itself. Another thing to note is the main glaze on the figurine is a pure white, while underneath the base it is more of a creamy colour.

Any help at all would be appreciated, I've spent quite a while trying to research it, via Google and Google Images, as yet to no avail. Images provided below.

 

Poor thing. It's not horribly old, I'd guess 1990s, but the porcelain bit does look like nice porcelain. The paint... someone used the wrong kind, and then stored her in an attic. The heat/cold cycle flaked the paint off.

 

Hello Flilot and Welcome! I'm not sure I can do much but give a few impressions. Whoever painted the figurine did not do it any favors. If done by the manufacturer, cold paint is normally an indication that the piece is not of high quality. It implies that money was saved by not applying a clear glaze after painting. The loss of paint is inevitable. It's really just a question of time before it starts to peel away. A studio or art class would also have made some effort to ensure it was color fast.

As for the underlying porcelain, I'm not sure I see the quality that you do. The hands, for instance, are crudely molded. i would expect more definition in the hair, skirt, and face. I'm sorry, flilot but I think it's a relatively inexpensive figurine produced in the far east and produced in the 1980's or later. Many people do not appreciate the fine quality of the white porcelain of Asia. The white is so pure and the porcelain is free of imperfections. It's a shame that not as much time is spent on the modeling. These pieces often just carried a gold foil label that is easily removed.

Removing the rest of the cold paint would not hurt the value and would perhaps increase it. Unless it's very carefully protected and never given more than a very quick dusting it's just going to continue to peel. It's possible the cold paint is hiding some more delicate details in the porcelain but I doubt it.
Don

 

Thanks both for your replies.

The thickness of the paint is hiding some of the finer modelling on the piece (including the fingers on the hands and dress), so I do maintain that it is well modelled, and the quality of the porcelain is definitely there, as said, as good as fine English porcelain from Royal Worcester, Royal Doulton and their ilk, and definitely not, I would say, on a par with Far Eastern cheaply produced modern items.

I perhaps should have prefaced my post by saying I have dealt in porcelain and collectables for many years here in the UK, and you just get to know by feel, weight (this piece is quite heavy in a reassuring way), and quality of the features, and glazing of porcelain (even in the absence of any marks), if it is modern, cheaply and crudely made in the Far East, or, if a it has a bit of age and quality to it. This does have the latter. Can be hard to observe in photographs. The paint is certainly doing it a disservice.

As I said, the piece is fully glazed under the paint, leading me to think it was purchased "in the white", sometimes called "blanks", and sold for painting elsewhere , many fine porcelain companies did this, including ones in England, France and Germany. I was hoping someone had seen the same or similar model of figurine before, and possibly point towards a factory. My knowledge is telling me English or European manufacture, but happy to be proven wrong!

 

It would certainly help to have the item in hand. As you've noted the weight alone can be a very important clue. If you ever do remove the paint please re-post her in the white. I have several very nice white Continental porcelain vases and figurines (mostly Rosenthal) so I am somewhat familiar with how beautiful the European white porcelain can be. I would suggest, though, that a European maker would have marked the item somehow on the bottom. The style of the hair and the hairband would indicate the earliest it could be is 1960's. By the 1960's I believe most European and English production was marked. I should have said that the above is just my own opinion. I, too, would be happy to be proven wrong (it wouldn't be the first time). And there may be others who see your post and disagree with me and evelyb30. Good luck with your research and Happy Holidays!
Don

 

Thanks. I may indeed remove the paint, and see what lies beneath. The absence of any attributable factory will make her hard to sell, so I'll probably just keep the figurine. It was only £1.49 from a charity store