Random Memories of Germany-Figures

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I am re-blogging this piece, as it is a wonderful memory we have of Germany.

…There were several things that interested us while we were in Germany.  All those years before that we lived in Wiesbaden (1967-1970) , we had never heard of the Kaiser company (founded 1872..became Kaiser in 1928) that produced porcelain figurines.  But when we arrived in Heidelberg (1980-1983), that was the rage – to have some figurines by Kaiser.  We found several that we liked and purchased them for ourselves.  And some we purchased for our family.  For instance, my Aunt Jessie loved dogs, and especially poodles.  So we purchased this poodle for her.  Following her death, I reclaimed it.

And this little Scottie just took my fancy – he’s got such a happy expression, don’t you think?

These dolphins reached out to me, so I purchased them.  Kaiser has several different versions of the dolphins.  I liked the two set best.  Some were glazed (shiny) but I liked the unglazed better.

I think this squirrel is quite the cutie.

But this little bunny rabbit looks so much like Thumper from the Disney movie Bambi®, that I had to have him in my collection!  He’s adorable!!

We have a couple of nudies that appealed to us, and here they are.

I don’t have pictures of them, but my Aunt Jessie had several Kaiser figurines of gymnasts.  Our Janet has them now, as she was quite interested in being a gymnast herself.  They are quite delicate and beautiful.

Our Karen has a Mother and Child figurine, and a running horse with her colt – all made by Kaiser.  Here they are in a picture of them on her fireplace mantle.

As you can see, all of those Kaiser figurines are white bisque.  While we saw many of the same figurines that had been painted, for some reason, I liked the plain white much better.  However, there was one figurine that we purchased that couldn’t be anything but painted.  It is so delicate and beautiful, and we treasure it.

Another type of figurine that caught our attention was those made by Lladro (Spanish pronunciation – yah’ – drow).  Many of their “human” figurines are rather grotesquely elongated – definitely not proportioned, and did not appeal to us at all.  However, the figurines they made of animals were something that did appeal to us.  My family purchased them for me and gave them to me as Christmas presents two different years.  I enjoy them so much, and am thankful to have them.  They were rather expensive, even in Germany.

One other figurine type we purchased when we were in Wiesbaden, and have enjoyed them all these years.  They are Dresden “musical angels,” with each one having a different musical instrument.  Two seem to be the same, but after looking closely, you will see that one is praying for her sister instrumentalists (far right – hands closer together), while the other one is directing the music (far left – hands more apart).  I have treasured these figurines for over 40 years.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: Germany