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St. Francis of Assisi Clay Statue in Wooden Shelter, Made in Italy
3 1/2" Wide, 12 1/2" High, Appears to be Clay or other similar pottery/earthenware substance, made in Italy, (Statue) There is a logo on the bottom which will be in my pictures and the Item #A2003. This was brought back from Europe to the United States by my uncle after he was released as a captured prisoner of war for 2 years by the Germans. Post WWII. The wooden shelter - I cannot identify what type of wood and it is put together with a combination of glue and nails. There is a hand-carved bird fastened to the roof with wire and has small amounts of black, blue and pale orange paint to enhance features. On the bottom of the shelter there is a rather large screw coming up directly in the center which is used to hold the statue in place when you put it into the shelter. The statue has a hole drilled in the bottom to accommodate setting it directly on top of the screw. The wooden box also has the same item number on it that the statue has.
I just provided all that information in my description. My Uncle was held in a Concentration Camp just outside of Berlin. After the war he went on to ten years of higher education to become an official in the Church. He and his wife had no children and my husband and I were their guardians in later years. He passed away at 94 a decorated and distinguished soldier and Pastor of more than 50 years. I have the log he maintained while held captive and hope to transcribe it into a book.
Inherited
Yes
Good evening, Patricia,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
The pottery is unglazed redware and the wood in the shelter looks like mahogany but I cant tell exactly. I can't find the mark on the bottom of the figure in any of my pottery marks books but they all tend to focus on pottery made earlier than this was made (mid 20th Century)
Religious figures are not strong sellers on the marketplace these days; I would guess, based on the history of this piece, that it has more sentimental value to you than it would on the market.
Based on the photographs and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
An Italian redware pottery figure of Saint Francis of Assisi
Together with a custom-made wooden shelter
both marked A2003; the figure with an unidentified mark underneath. The figure drilled to receive a stud at the bottom of the shelter.
12 1/2 inches high
PROVENANCE: acquired by client's uncle after he was released as a captured prisoner of war for 2 years by the Germans
$150-200*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, and thank you for using Mearto.
Patricia, I am so sorry for your loss.
We work with lots of auctioneers from relevant and highly qualified auction houses. Your item is in our database of leads and interested auctioneers will reach out to you directly on your email if they can help you sell your item.
If you said "yes" or "maybe" when we asked if your item was for sale auctioneers are now able to contact you. If you said "no" go to your item page and change that to "yes".
In picture 7 the Italian name that is stamped into the base of the statue - - - I had put that into a search engine and it brought up some information, however, my husband passed away unexpectedly from cancer just recently and in the shock of it all my notes, etc., were lost. The internet did show other examples of this artist's work. I continue to want to sell it.