INTEC 38 - Sculpture, gaper, handgeschilderd, collectors item - 19 cm - ground natural stone

Intec Gaper number 38. Damage to the nose. See and read the booklet. A collection of 41 Gapers, issued and made by the company Intec in Veenendaal. Only drugstores and pharmacists with sufficient sales received these unique, hand-painted Gapers. All are made of ground natural stone, except for number 41, the last one, which is made of resin. The molds were ultimately destroyed at a farewell party of the company in front of the guests.

Gapers were recognition marks for pharmacies, chemists, and drugstores. They first appeared at the end of the sixteenth century and are only found in the Dutch, Frisian, and Flemish language regions. Most of those still in use today as recognition marks date from the nineteenth century or are replicas.
The yawner remains an enigmatic phenomenon. Its origin is unknown. There are various explanations for its characteristic, the widely open mouth. One is a medical professional; showing your tongue for a diagnosis and then taking prescribed medication. Some yawners have a pill on their tongue or a sulfur match in their mouth. Another explanation could be that the sick person, overwhelmed by fatigue, lets their mouth fall open. The most common yawners are Easterners with a turban. Additionally, there are jesters, police officers, firefighters, Roman soldiers, and the sick.

Gapers are authentic folk art products and only existed in the Netherlands and Flanders.