Posted 10 years ago
KendraMack
(3 items)
How I love this little turtle lady! I inherited this risqué bisque bathing beauty a couple years ago, and never cease being amused by her weirdness. Not only is she happily pondering inside a turtle shell, but lift up her shell back and you'll see a little bare tush!
She is in excellent condition, and is stamped with "Coney Island" on the inside shell. Carved into the bottom of the shell is "Made in Japan." Judging by these details and the little research I've done, I pin her somewhere around the 1930s-40s. I imagine she was once amongst other silly trinkets in a novelty shop on the island. I believe some bisque turtle ladies date back to the turn of the century, but those were usually made in Germany, not Japan.
Any information you may have about this turtle lady is very welcome! She's quite special and I'd love to learn more about her history.
Hi, very fun piece. Trying to figure out a date...
So, most if not all of the 40s were taken up with WWII, so it could be very late 40s or 50s.
The lettering that says Coney Island just doesn't seem like the font or style they used in the 30s...but the rest of it seems the quality of the 30s.
Someone is going to pop up with the exact date...
Very nice piece. Coney Island is a part of Brooklyn NY. We never thought it was a seperate Island. Gorgeous
Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Just because "Made in Japan" is carved into the shell, I'm now leaning towards the post-war late 1940s to 1950s also. I read that in the U.S. occupied Japan (1945 - 1952), U.S. Customs Bureau required that all items manufactured in Japan be labeled as such. In the 1950s, labeling technology improved and it was more common to see small oval or rectangle paper labels rather than inking or carving. More here: http://www.ebay.com/gds/History-of-Made-in-Japan-Ceramics-/10000000004613626/g.html
The turn of the century turtle ladies are lovely (I love the "bear" behind!), and I think those were mainly manufactured in Germany.
Greetings,
I just received one from an elderly lady that asked me to sell it for her on ebay. Hers is made in Germany. I found this link that gave me some good info and wanted to share it with you.
Copy and paste it into your browser.
http://collectorgene.com/2013/06/find-of-the-week-naughty-bisque-turtle-girl-with-her-bear-bottom-showing/
Really--Just too cute. Love it!