Antique Folk Art Primitive Head Vase of a Lady
Lady Head Vases: x Things You Didn't Know
Ceramic beauties with impeccable fashion, lady head vases are a charming and popular mid-century collectible.
Figural vases in the form of a caput or bosom of a woman got their start in Europe in the 1800s. The earliest examples of the lady
head vases Americans are most familiar with are from the 1930s and thousands of unlike kinds were made until the 1970s, when the craze waned and decreasing demand caused near companies to stop producing the pieces.
These ladies exude glamour, with their perfectly coiffed hairdos, big lush eyelashes and cherry lips, elegant fashions and sometimes adorned with pearls or other jewelry, a stylish hat or gloves - or sometimes all three accessories. Read on to find out 10 things you lot should know about these distinctive vases adored by "head hunters."
Napco manus-painted amethyst lady caput vase, 1960, signed and numbered, hand painted, original drop "imitation" pearl earrings and necklace, and prong-set lavender rhinestone brooch on a lavender dress. Showcases over 80 handmade flowers, over 180 mitt-prepare Swarovski crystals, twoscore manus-torched flowers and leaves and over xxx hand-fabricated brass fancy, swirled pins with rhinestones inset by the seller. Without flowers, v-1/4" h, with flowers, 8-1/2" h; $320.
Courtesy of Etsy seller THEUNITGAL: world wide web.etsy.com/shop/THEUNITGAL
ane. Their Roots
Head vases were originally produced past florist companies as a marketing ploy to sell more of their small bouquets using these knickknacks, which is how they ended up in so many homes, particularly during the 1950s and '60s. They could also be bought at five-and-dime stores such as Woolworth's. Some collectors still fill them with flowers or other artful arrangements, apply them to hold makeup brushes and other dazzler supplies or even to agree pens.
Lady head vase, turquoise with matching wide-brim hat, decorated with white bows, Ardco Fine Quality of Dallas, half-dozen" h; $187.fifty.
Courtesy of eBay seller lauraw6108: ebay.com/usr/lauraw6108
two. Makers
Lady head vases were frequently manufactured in Japan after World War 2 by companies including Enesco, Inarco, Lefton, Napco, Reubens and Relpo and imported to the U.Due south. American head vase manufacturers include Betty Lou Nichols, Purple Copley, Ceramic Arts Studio, Shawnee Pottery and Henry Holt. Some of these vases could be purchased in packs of half dozen or twelve for a few dollars.
3. Makers' Marks
Napco, Enesco, Nichols and other makers included a mark on the bottoms of their pieces, while other companies included a paper label or foil sticker that most often than not has worn away. Not all head vases are marked, though, but that doesn't affect collectibility. Sellers by and large include a photo of the mark on the bottom of a piece.
iv. Most Valued Ladies
Betty Lou Nichols is credited with fueling the head vase craze in the Usa, and her iconic creations are much sought afterwards by collectors. According to The Los Angeles Times, the talented California ceramicist and artist, who began making her creations in the 1940s with clay and a rolling pivot on her parents' kitchen table, opened her first ceramics studio in 1945. Her distinctive vases tend to exist women in Gay '90s-style, with big hats and large curls, perfect cheekbones and pare. They are painted in soft hues such as periwinkle, plum and mint. The trademark Betty Lou look: to-die-for eyelashes lowered in perpetual coquetry. She produced thousands of heads, creating the basic shapes from a mold, as other makers did, but she was the only maker who added handmade details such equally ruffles, lace and bows made of clay.
Betty Lou Nichols-made head vase, 1950s, with blond hair, pinkish ruffled dress and wide-brimmed blackness lid with bow, signed "Nancy past Betty Lou," 6-i/4 " h x 4-five/8" w x iv-3/iv" d; $205.
Courtesy of eBay seller qualityfinds: ebay.com/usr/qualityfinds
The marking on the bottom of the Betty Lou Nichols' head vase.
5. Styles
There is a wide variety of styles of head vases for collectors to choose from: plain women, tribal women, women in their Dominicus all-time. Many of the most desirable take realistic facial features, with eyes open or closed, forth with chic accessories like pearl necklaces with matching dangling earrings or other jewelry and stylish hats. Some also have a perfectly manicured paw that frames a side of their face or a gloved hand. At that place is likewise a diverseness of hairdos including curls, updos, long pilus, bouffants and brusque sassy styles sometimes adorned with ceramic flowers or ribbons. Necklines likewise vary. Head vases can exist collected by particular manufacturers, specific sizes or themes, such as brunettes, those wearing hats, or those with hands. Vases with teen-age faces, introduced in the 1960s, are not every bit common equally adult versions.
A hard-to-find teen-age girl head vase by Relpo, with blonde pilus, orange dress, pearl earrings and two hair bows, belatedly 1950s-60s, bottom stamped "A639," 5-1/2" h on a 3-3/4" x ii-3/four" base; $195.
Courtesy of Blood-red Lane seller Maggie Belle's Memories: rubylane.com/shop/maggiebelles
Some of the lady head vases in collector Wayne Geeslin'south collection, showing all different styles.
Courtesy of Wayne Geeslin
vi. Not Just Ladies
It's been estimated that there are at least 10,000 different varieties of head vases that were fabricated. Besides stylish ladies, caput vases have been made to look similar clowns, children, nurses, brides, babies, animals and characters like Uncle Sam. Vases were non just busts; there were ashtrays, lipstick holders, caput lamps and more than. Celebrity head vases were also created in the likeness of Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Brawl, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Grace Kelly, Carmen Miranda and more than. They were also fabricated in likenesses of males, such as Elvis Presley, but were much less common. These celebrity heads can exist some of the about valuable and sought after by collectors. Co-ordinate to a Kovels' Komments newsletter, a 1964 Jacqueline Kennedy head vase by Inarco sold for as loftier as $985.
Jackie Kennedy in Mourning head vase, with a gloved hand, past Inarco, 1964, black-matte bodice with left paw in a matching black-matte glove raised delicately to her face up. Stamped "E-1852 Inarco leve, (sic) Ohio ©1964." Simply nether 6" h and base is four-one/viii" x 3"; $225.
Courtesy of Ruby Lane seller Maggie Belle's Memories: rubylane.com/shop/maggiebelles
A rare Marilyn Monroe head vase by Relpo, with all of the original labeling, 1955, seven"; $two,600.
Courtesy of Ruby-red Lane seller My Grandmother Had 1: rubylane.com/shop/mygrandmotherhadone
The mark on the lesser of the Marilyn Monroe head vase.
7. Sizes
While head vases range in size from two to xiv inches, about of them are 7 inches and under, and vary according to manufacturer and model. Because they are rarer to find, taller vases are more valuable.
8. Be Cautious of Reproductions
Reproduction head vases are in the marketplace and widely sold in gift shops around the country. Nigh of the contempo pieces are piece of cake to recognize in comparison to older ceramics, but take precaution when buying, especially if you are an inexperienced collector and also if you are ownership online. Try to purchase only from reputable antiques dealers and other trusted collectors.
9. Resource
There are several good collectors' guides available that list the vases by number, manufacturer and gauge value. Kathleen Cole's Caput Vases: Identification and Values (2002), with a second edition (2006), and The Encyclopedia of Caput Vases (2003) each have 200 colour photographs of head vases. David Barron's Collecting Caput Vases (2003) and a second edition with updated prices (2006) have more ane,500 color photos, including some of Maddy Gordon'south collection of 3,000 vases. In 2002, Gordon and her head vases were featured in a segment of the HGTV television show, "Ultimate Collectors," and she also wrote a book herself on Betty Lou Nichols: Head Vases, Etc.: The Artistry of Betty Lou Nichols (2001), with 600 photos.
Elusive Inarco E-6210 head vase dubbed the "Ghost Girl" or "Ghost Sister" by collectors considering of her light matte coloring and is a scarce notice. Circa 1950s-60s, she has a medium-blue bodice with a deeper bluish narrow collar topping a peek-a-boo V in the front of her gown, big pearl drop earrings, side-swept blonde hair, mark reads "Inarco® E6210" with an elliptical world map, 7" h, base of operations is 4-1/4" x 2-3/4"; $275.
Courtesy of Cerise Lane seller Maggie Belle'south Memories: rubylane.com/shop/maggiebelles
10. Values and Where to Find
These lovely ladies can be found between $x to $one,000 and fifty-fifty more, depending on rarity. Information technology's easy to get-go collecting head vases or add pieces to your existing collection, since a lot can be found at many antiques shops or online in the $ten to $fifty range. Ruby Lane has a diversity ranging from $17 to $2,600. You could too get lucky and find i for far less at a yard sale, flea market place or thrift store. Many collectors are willing to pay $50 or more for a head vase they don't have nonetheless even if it's not rare or a celebrity. Head vases, like all collectibles, fluctuate in value. Buy those that are in good shape, with lilliputian or no crazing, chips or breaks since condition adds to value. And also as usual, when it comes to collectibles, purchase what you like.
Courtesy of Strawser Auction Group
You might also like:
Archetype Kitsch is Back!
Bride's Baskets: 10 Things Yous Didn't Know
Copper Jewelry: Mid-Century Modern Art You Can Wearable
Source: https://www.antiquetrader.com/collectibles/lady-head-vases-10-things-you-didnt-know
0 Response to "Antique Folk Art Primitive Head Vase of a Lady"
Post a Comment