After scarabs, ushabtis are the most frequently found Egyptian antiquity. They can be made of stone, wood, and, more generally, faience and were provided in the burial to stand in place of the deceased in the next world – some dead were buried with several hundred ushabtis. (more…)

Cigar store figures were carved from wood and cast in zinc. Wooden examples are generally more valuable as each one is unique, whereas many zinc figures were cast from the same mould. Although generally less expensive, metal figures are harder to find as many of them were melted down so the metal could be re-used. (more…)

Bunnykins were the brainchild of Barbara Vernon, daughter of Cuthbert Bailey, the manager of Royal Doulton’s Stoke-on-Trent factory. The young nun had used drawings of a family of rabbits to entertain her class at convent school. Her father saw their potential as a range of nurserywares, which was launched in 1934. Six figurines, possibly modeled by Charles Noke, were then introduced in 1938, although they were somewhat different in appearance to Vernon’s original drawings. Production was interrupted by World War II, and these early, prewar examples are rare today. (more…)

Beatrix Potter published the first book ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ in 1902 and wrote a total of 23 books, which have been loved by children ever since. In 1947, Beswick modeller Arthur Gredington created the first figure based on Potter’s drawings, “Jemima Puddleduck”, at the suggestion of Lucy Beswick, following her visit to Potter’s Lake District home. (more…)

The Shawnee Pottery Co. was founded in 1937 in Zanesville, Ohio. The company acquired a 650,000 square-foot plant that had previously housed the American Encaustic Tiling Company. Shawnee produced as many as 100,000 pieces of pottery a day until 1961, when the plant closed. (more…)

Derby Crown Porcelain Co., established in 1875 in Derby, England, had no connection with earlier Derby factories which operated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1890, the company was appointed “Manufacturers of Porcelain to Her Majesty” and since that date has been known as “Royal Crown Derby”. (more…)