Owl ID....How old ?

[mojjax]

This was in Grandmother's stuff . A friend of ours looked at it and said it was old "chalkware" It is thick , about 8" tall , and hollow .
Any idea how old it is ? There are no maker's marks .

 

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[BioProfessor]

I remember we had a chalkware dog on our fireplace hearth. It was my grand mother's so it would date to early 1900's.

Daryl

 

[Gypsy Heart]

I remember my grandma saying that those used to be carnival prizes.....

 

[traderoftreasures]

i found a chaulkware clown yesterday mixed in a early 1900 dump

 

[One mans trash...]

Chalkware and ceramic owls like this are often made to be lamps. Small bulb goes in the bottom, and the eyes light up. Chalkware figures were common carnival prizes and inexpensive decorating items in the first half of the century, especially during the depression, since they were cheap to make. This one doesn't look like that era. It looks more like a Mexican tourista item to me. The paintwork isn't at all what I expect from old carnival chalkware but is very much like what you see on tourist goods. The carnival items were more natural representations and were not nearly so elaborately painted and didn't have that glaze look. I would guess 50's or 60's. Chalkware is plaster. If it rings, rather than thunks, when you tap it, it's ceramic and more certainly import.

 

[nebstater]

Chalkware and ceramic owls like this are often made to be lamps. Small bulb goes in the bottom, and the eyes light up. Chalkware figures were common carnival prizes and inexpensive decorating items in the first half of the century, especially during the depression, since they were cheap to make. This one doesn't look like that era. It looks more like a Mexican tourista item to me. The paintwork isn't at all what I expect from old carnival chalkware but is very much like what you see on tourist goods. The carnival items were more natural representations and were not nearly so elaborately painted and didn't have that glaze look. I would guess 50's or 60's. Chalkware is plaster. If it rings, rather than thunks, when you tap it, it's ceramic and more certainly import.

I agree with you completely. It definately looks to be Mexican.