Figure - Bebés del Piano (2) - Ceramic

Why do collectors around the world go crazy looking for these figures? At the end of the 19th century, in the midst of the Victorian and Edwardian era, it became fashionable to cover grand pianos with luxurious silk mantillas. As the silk kept slipping, German manufacturers (like Heubach in Thuringia) created these heavy porcelain figures to hold the mantillas in style. Thus the "Piano Babies" were born.

But this lot hides a double, mischievous and innocent at the same time: How was it explained to children back then where babies came from?

The Cabbage Baby: The adorable figure in the green basket is the literal representation of the old European fable that "children are born from cabbages". Notice the level of detail in the textured cabbage leaves!

The Eggshell Baby: The second figure shows a baby with a mischievous gaze breaking a giant egg, a precious modernist allegory about birth and the beginning of life.

Authenticity Marks: Both pieces are serialized mold-made pieces from the golden age of German porcelain. They retain their numbers printed on the base: 0766 on the cabbage baby and 0915 on the eggshell one.

Condition and Patina
Condition: In a fantastic vintage state for more than a century of life. No breaks, cracks or restorations.

Original Paint: The faces, rosy cheeks and sideways glances preserve the original pastel pigment hand-painted by the artisans of the era. They show the patina and the dust of time in the inner crevices, the unmistakable "DNI" of real antiquity.