Ceramic Masks

Ceramic  Masks

Ceramic  Masks

ceramic  masks were inspired by the wooden tribal African face masks eagerly collected during the 1930s.

Many lovers of kitsch and past decor find this unusual form of portraiture irresistible.

It makes a striking feature on a staircase wall.

Ceramic  Masks

Unlike the tribal masks that inspired them, ceramic wall masks of the 1930s to the 1950s were given bold colours and sharp contours of the period.

Most masks were female which allowed for a full exploration of flamboyant fashions in hair make up and dress.

The most important makers were the central Europeans such as Goldscheider, Goebel, and Royal dux, based in Austria, Bulgaria, and Bohemia respectively.

Ceramic  Masks

In Britain’s the outstanding makers were Beswick, which had made its name in tableware and also produced popular animal figures, another British manufacture was J H Copa of Staffordshire, which has a reputation for domestic ceramics.

The masks often featured screen goddesses of the day such as Marlene Dietrich, Dorothy Lamour, and Greta Garbo.

 Anonymous young women were also shown modelling fashionable styles such as cropped boyish hair.

Ceramic  Masks

Masks were produced in various poses, as well as in groups, and faces often had idolised features such as arched eyebrows and Armond eyes.

The 1950s examples displayed much more highly made up faces, consistent with the post war return to glamour in woman’s fashions.

Dietrich for example, was Sean with high arched, plucked eyebrows, almond eyes, yellow hair, and on some of the Beswick models, a rakish French beret.

Ceramic  Masks

Top tips for collectors.

Look out for those desirable features.

Good quality painting and  modelling.

Ceramic  Masks

Period details including accessories, hairstyles, and make up.

Signs of ageing that suggest piece is genuine.

I hope you have found this page on  Ceramic  Masks   to be informative and helpful.

Happy hunting from the collectibles coach.