Do you know this cat?
October 3, 2015 6:00 PM   Subscribe

I am wondering if anyone knows anything about these ceramic cats.

They have been in my family since the late 60's/early70's. We were living in Montreal, Quebec at the time but they could have come from one of many trips my parents took. There is apparently a middle sized one that my mother still regrets not getting. The only identifying mark is on the bottom of the small one and it says "Maly". Pictures one - two - three

I'm curious about them and would be interested in seeing the middle cat and possibly complete the strange trio.
posted by sadtomato to Grab Bag (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: The marking on the bottom is "Italy."
posted by BostonTerrier at 6:15 PM on October 3, 2015 [2 favorites]


Yeah, the most similar ones I'm seeing online are labeled as being Italian from around 1950-60. Try a search for "vintage handpainted ceramic cat italian long neck" and you'll get a bunch of similar ones with big eyes and eyelashes. I'm not turning up anything more specific yet.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:21 PM on October 3, 2015


Very similar one signed "made in Italy for Sak's Fifth Ave".
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:45 PM on October 3, 2015


Best answer: Definitely marked ITALY - and the fact that's the English spelling supports the idea that they were an "artisanal" production made for a US (or UK) commission.

Ebay has a similar one, and Etsy had another now-lapsed one as well; there are similar feline statuettes on offer elsewhere whose provenance is indicated as Bassano.
Likely to be some small manufacturer, like this one (found here).
posted by progosk at 5:34 AM on October 4, 2015


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