Collections Within My Collection: Outliers - the "Augarten"

I have a lot of "outliers" in my collection, pieces that don't really fit into any category with other models. But they are still part of a grouping within my collections, the outlier group. 

What would you do if you looked up in an antique shop and spied this piece on a high shelf?

Here is the story of what I did:

Years ago, collector and antique dealer Christina Dils gave some advice on her blog and suggested that collectors should look at the top shelves and the bottom shelves, not just the middle ones, when out looking for HSOs.

 It was good advice and I have had several good finds as a result of applying it. In 2021 I applied Christina's advice and found this piece.

I happened to look up at a shelf as I walked past and saw this beautiful Lippizaner performing the courbette. "Oh, my gosh!" I gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

I stood on tiptoe and carefully lifted it down so I could look at the piece. According to the label it was an Augarten! My first!! 

But I began to wonder if it might be something else after I got it home and unwrapped it for pictures.

Would an Augarten have skewed nostrils? Surely not.

I took a photo of the mark under the base and googled the history of the company's stamps.

Hmmmm, the mark was right, but the more I looked at the piece, the more I realized that it did not feel the way a fine porcelain would feel.

It was lighter and when I flicked a finger against it, made the same "thunky" sound similar to the sound some of my Japan chinas make when tapped.

Googling the actual piece answered my question. Augarten Lippizaners have gold bells in their manes and tails and the rider is more refined and has his head tilted down more than mine.

So, I had an imitation. I was disappointed but I wasn't angry or upset.

My three favorite breeds of horses are Appaloosas, Tennessee Walkers, and Lippizaners. This Lippizaner is still a nice piece, skewed nostrils and all. 

It may be a copy, but I like it and it's staying in my collection.

I wrote that back in 2021. But since then, I have had doubts about my dismissal of the piece. The more I look at it, the more I think that, even if it isn't an Augarten piece, it is still a quality piece.

But what is it? Have any of you ever seen this Lippizaner? Or heard of Augartens painted with silver rather than gold tack? Could it be a cheaper piece the company produced for souvenirs, perhaps at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna?

Any feedback or links would be helpful. TIA! (horsiemama8@gmail.com)

Johann is Here

 I was dismayed when Johann was announced to drop  - I would be out at Fort Ouiatenon. The WIFI there is spotty plus I would be volunteering and unable to order one until I got home.

The Lippizaner is the only Classic mold I collect (and a vintage mold as well) and chances were good that he would be sold out before I got home in the evening and could order mine.

Thankfully dear friend Liz Cory stepped up and was able to place my order for me.

Four versions were available and I received the palomino. While I'd hoped for the Appaloosa or the bay, I am still happy with mine.

The photos do not do it justice - it has a beautiful pearly finish.

I'm taking him to GLC later this month to see if anyone might like to trade but I won't be sad if that does not happen.

Another "Shot" at this & Another Mistaken Identity

I have two shot glasses, not just the one I showed yesterday. I was more "informed" this time when I bought the second shot glass, but my favorite breeds are Appaloosas, Tennessee Walkers, and Lippizaners, so I could not resist.

Besides, I'd learned that shot glasses make great toothpick holders!

I have another Lippizaner piece that was also not the trinket or candy dish that I thought it was when I purchased it. Can you tell what this lovely piece really is for?

It's china and in the same red, gold, and black colors of the Lippizaner shot glass.

Wien, the maker's mark on the back , means "Vienna" and I think the other word means "handmade."

Three different stallions are represented, one doing the capriole,

 

another doing the levade, 

and the third one piaffing.

I had had that trinket/candy dish on display in my living room for several years before I figured out what it really was. While dusting one day, I picked it up and ran my finger around the gold rim and into the depressions.

Those depressions gave it away. We'd had little dishes with similar depressions in them that were set out on tables when I was a very little girl. This wasn't a trinket or a candy dish - it was an ash tray!

Smokers would perch their lit cigarettes in the depressions when they wanted their hands free to eat, play cards, etc. The dish would catch ashes from the burning cigarettes and protect the furniture from burns.

My parents quit smoking when I was very small and the ash trays were removed from the house, so my memory of them is pretty foggy. Still, there was enough of a memory left to help me realize what my lovely china piece was. Now it holds candy or my rings in it and continues to be displayed in my living room. 

More tomorrow so stay 'tooned!

Is a Fake a Find?

Want to win the model horse shelves from Bobbie Allen at Horse Tender Studios? Send your name and mailing address to me at horsiemama8@gmail.com before 11:59 PM on Saturday, January 8!

Years ago, collector and antique dealer Christina Dils gave some advice on her blog and suggested that collectors should look at the top shelves and the bottom shelves, not just the middle ones, when out looking for HSOs.

 It was good advice and I have had several good finds as a result of applying it. Just recently I applied Christina's advice and found this piece.

I happened to look up at a shelf as I walked past and saw this beautiful Lippizaner performing the courbette. "Oh, my gosh!" I gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

I stood on tiptoe and carefully lifted it down so I could look at the piece. According to the label it was an Augarten! My first!! 

But I began to wonder if it might be something else after I got it home and unwrapped it for pictures.

Would an Augarten have skewed nostrils? Surely not.

I took a photo of the mark under the base and googled the history of the company's stamps.

Hmmmm, the mark was right, but the more I looked at the piece, the more I realized that it did not feel the way a fine porcelain would feel.

It was lighter and when I flicked a finger against it, made the same "thunky" sound similar to the sound some of my Japan chinas make when tapped.

Googling the actual piece answered my question. Augarten Lippizaners have gold bells in their manes and tails and the rider is more refined and has his head tilted down more than mine.

So, I had a fake, an imitation. I was disappointed but I wasn't angry or upset.

My three favorite breeds of horses are Appaloosas, Tennessee Walkers, and Lippizaners. This Lippizaner is still a nice piece, skewed nostrils and all. 

It may be a fake, but I like it and it's staying in my collection.

More Blind Bag Luck

 Earlier this month I took a chance on getting the blue decorator Indian Pony in the 70th Anniversary Blind Bags. I bought an entire case of 24 with the odds that I'd heard being that there was 1 Indian Pony in every 12 cases. (Or, 1 in every 288 blind bags.) To my surprise, the first package I opened contained her.

As I so frequently say (and then do the complete opposite), I do not collect Stablemates. But I do like the Lippizaner mold. So when Breyer offered a holiday blind bag that included it, I took a chance again. Called Festive Filigrees, four models were offered in filigree holiday colors.

Photo taken from email sent by Breyer.

I didn't really want any of the others; based on Breyer's photo, the colors looked too bright and almost garish. But sometimes the actual in-hand pieces look better than their photographs, so I crossed my fingers and ordered two.

I pulled the first bag from the box and felt the outlines through the packaging. My excitement started rising - it felt like the Lippizaner.

It was! I'd gotten the model I'd wanted in the first bag I'd opened again!

And his color is much prettier and far more muted than that garish gold in the promo photo.

Setting the Lippizaner aside, I started running my fingers over the outlines of the Stablemate in the other package. I didn't really want any of the other offerings, especially the red Smart Chic Olena, nor did I think I'd get lucky and get a second Lippizaner. 

It felt like the Croi, and when I tore off the top of the bag, I was right. And again, the color was much nicer in person. That eye really isn't wonky. It's a combination of shading and trying to take photos at 5:00 AM in very poor lighting. The eye is fine.

Nor does it have a black flaw in its mane. Not sure where that came from, but it's gone now.

After opening the case of 70th Anniversary Blind Bags earlier this month, I discovered that Croi, a mold I do not care for, is not too bad when Stablemate sized. It's been growing on me ever since, and when I saw that the Holiday Filigree Croi was actually a more muted green instead of in-your-face neon, I was actually quite happy with it.

Now that these are here and nothing else is on order, it might be wise to remind myself by (mis-) quoting the Cowardly Lion, "I do not collect Stablemates, I do not collect Stablemates, I do not..."

HR SR Bay Lippizaner

My absolute favorite breed is, of course, Appaloosas, but I also love Lippizaners and Tennessee Walkers. 

So, when a friend posted that she was selling her Hagen Renaker Lippizaner in bay, I quickly sent her a message and ended up purchasing it. 

 A 2009 special run for BreyerFest, it came in two colors - black and bay.

 I love his blaze - it looks a bit like a tornado or a lightning strike.

I bought the black about ten years ago and have been looking for the bay ever since. (I have found one or two, but their prices were not in my budget.)

 The blazes on the two pieces are different.

 Their bases differ, too.

A close-up of the bases. In person, the differences make it seem as though two different molds were used for those bases. I need to do some research into that.

Both pieces are marked to identify them as special runs. If I remember right, 50 were made of each color.

I am thrilled to add this piece to my collection!

A Joanie Horse!

I got a Joanie horse! And some sheepies!

 Japan sheep set, HR DW Lippizaner, and unknown resin sheep.

Two big boxes arrived Thursday evening for me from Joanie Berkwitz.

She had put some pictures on Facebook of some pieces she was rehoming, some of which had been broken, some that were not. I'd wanted an HR DW Lippizaner for years (actually, decades) but just could not justify paying the high prices they commanded.

 But when I saw this piece, I felt it didn't hurt to ask how much she wanted for it; I knew its value would be lower because of the break (which I didn't mind) and the soft detail the piece had.

Joanie replied that she really didn't know what they were worth and so I did some research. I emailed back and wrote that I had found one for $650 with great detail and that there was another one currently on eBay for $350. I then said that, in all honesty, I could only justify $125-$150, and understood if that was below what she felt it was worth.

Her response? She told me she'd take $100 and shipping for it. She wasn't looking to make a profit - she wanted to rehome it.

I thought I would cry. At last I was getting a piece I'd chased for all those years! And for less that I had budgeted!

He has beautiful crazing in his finish and bi-eyes. I am going to spend some time this afternoon puttering in the horse room (a nice break from working on report cards and end of year paperwork!) and do a little research on him.

Thanks, Joanie. Your generosity touches my heart and makes me smile.

(As for the sheep, the chinas are very similar to a set my Aunt Fay gave me as a child, and the resins were a surprise bonus. Joanie said that the sheep were all together, but I only saw pictures of the chinas. I am happy to have the bonus pieces, too!)