Ceramic Toys

This colorful tree of life (árbol de la vida) with a toy like aspect is a unique piece by Marco Antonio Castillo, son of renowned artist Alfonso Castillo. Hand made with natural clay...

In the late 19th century the concept of thrift became a principle by which parents encouraged their children to safe money by putting their pennies into a "piggy bank", thus the proliferation of these items by pottery manufacturers, this particular example marked "SS" on the underneath indicating "A Smith Ltd.", Longton, England whose ceramic, china, and pottery business began in 1846 by Sampson Smith. Nicely molded and in excellent condition, this proverbial pig themed penny bank is painted overall white with a multiplicity of green "spatter" spots, the pig standing on all fours has a twisted tail in back. The original finish is beautifully glazed resulting in a lovely patina to this completely original bank with no restoration or touch up paint of any kind and all of it's original hand paint intact. Since these type of antique banks typically were made without a coin removal trap, the only way to extract the coins would have been the old "knife in the slot" method and retrieving the pennies one by one; or the more simpler method of smashing and breaking the bank, which is why locating these banks is very difficult, rendering a fine example particularly rare. This example is a wonderful addition to a collection of authentic still banks, folk art, or for those who accumulate pig items. This recently came from an estate collection of pig still banks. A similar example is referenced as #633 "Two Toned Pig" in Andy Moore's "The Penny Bank Book" written in 1984 when collecting pottery banks...

Mickey Forever Young designed by Elena Salmistraro for Bosa is a sculpture made of ceramic, born from the collaboration between Bosa and Disney to celeb...

Urban Minerva designed by Elena Salmistraro for Bosa is a sculpture made of ceramic, with handmade multicolored decorations. The sculpture was born from a collaboration between Bosa ...

Very attractive and well-made decorative and colorful Staffordshire porcelain money box or savings bank; made in England, indicative of the style potters from that region employed, circa 1880. Nicely detailed with green floral facie, orange double pane windows and front door, and a white painted cottage with brown steps and green fauna at entry. There were no "coin traps" or provisions for coin removal so banks such as these are rare since smashing or breaking the bank was the only method by which the money could be retrieved. The bank is in very good all original condition with only a minor "hairline" repair to one of the chimney stacks (see image). It is very sound and done a long time ago and is hardly noticeable. Being a cross collectible, this would be a very unique addition for a Staffordshire collector indeed (the subject being a money box), or a welcome compliment to any still bank...

American pottery still bank in the shape of a pig, used for saving coins (usually pennies) to encourage children the importance of thrift. Pottery still banks are somewhat scarce since the typical way to remove coins was to smash the bank open, albeit, with this particular example, perhaps a knife was used for coin removal (note the wear to the coin slot---see images) or perhaps the additional wear is also from many coins having been deposited. The bank is in good all original condition , from an unknown potter (unmarked) circa 1880's, and probably a variant of #633 "Two Toned Pig" in Andy Moore's "The Penny Bank Book" written in 1984 when collecting pottery banks...

This is a doll which is called Yuhime-Ningyo. These dolls are made in Matsuyama, Ehime prefecture. The kimono which the doll is wearing is made with silk. We say that these dolls ar...

This Chinese opera marionette puppet is dress in an elegant embroidered silk dragon robe. The puppet head is of painted ceramic. The ornate headdress...

This bank was manufactured by HEPP "The Hole-Eyed Pottery Pig" company, the oldest Czechoslovakian/Austrian ceramic coin bank manufacturer, circa 1890. Their best customer was the Un...

A marbleized brown with a beige hand painted underbelly dominates the color scheme to this excellent condition 19th century authentic stoneware Austrian still bank. This "piggy" bank...

1930s Swabian Hallic Country Pig Made of Terracotta A vintage statue of a Swabian hallic country pig. It was used as shop window decoration in a German butchery. The statue is made ...

1930s Swabian Hallic Country Pig Made of Terracotta A vintage statue of a Swabian hallic country pig. It was used as shop window decoration in a German butchery. The statue is made ...