PIANO BABIES

Is your piano baby real or a reproduction?

The market for piano babies, the adorable German bisque figurines that graced Victorian and Edwardian parlors, is consistently vibrant. When new collectors discover them, they fall under the spell of their innocent intaglio eyes and soon adopt a few to add to their brood of collectible dolls. Unfortunately, novice collectors also fall prey to unscrupulous or uninformed sellers that pass off mid-century Made in Japan (MIJ) or other reproductions as genuine German bisque piano babies.

Joy Frizzell of Joy’s Antique Dolls has an eagle eye when it comes to separating bona fide German bisque piano babies from mid-century MIJ imitations and modern models fashioned from antique molds. Now she generously shares some of her best advice with us!

While wear to the high points and glazed surfaces is one indication of age, wear alone does not ensure antique status. Reproductions have been in circulation for well over 50 years.

On antique piano babies, any raised painting is achieved with both paint and porcelain slip. This gives raised dots, teeth and eye highlights an added dimension that will be missing from the flat-painted reproductions.

Intaglio eyes on antique piano babies have a large concave indentation filling most of the iris, along with raised white highlights. The iris surrounding the pupil will be gray/blue and rarely brown. The pupil will not be harsh black, but a blended dark blue/gray. Reproductions are less often found with intaglio eyes and generally will have flat-painted eyes with a too black pupil.  Any highlights will generally be flat and without raised dots.

Pouring and/or steam venting holes on antique piano babies will be tiny, usually half the size of a pencil eraser or smaller. Reproductions often will have very large holes, often up to 2/3 of the size of the entire base.

On marked Gebruder Heubach piano babies, so-called one-stroke eyebrows are actually two strokes--one in light brown and a second in dark brown. Smaller babies’ brows may have a blended color, but it will not be dark or harsh. Brows on reproductions are usually one color in a darker line or feathered with many strokes.

Gr. Heubach piano babies with open/closed mouths may have molded gum lines with molded teeth. Smaller babies may have raised dots indicating teeth with a darker bottom line on upper lip. On reproductions the open/closed mouth will typically have one color with flat painted teeth, if any, and no darker separating line.

Gr. Heubach finger and toe definition will have dimples above fingers (knuckles) and creases and nails, as well as fat rolls and elbow dimples. On reproductions fingers and toes are usually smooth and may have painted nail lines instead of modeling.

The best way to spot a reproduction is to study antique piano babies carefully. The more you can inspect the real thing, the more adept you will be at identifying fakes.

SEE: http://www.fabtintoys.com/heubach/