After having several people email me about the prices of Erich Stauffer figurines I attempted to make an Erich Stauffer Figurines price guide, but it was way more complicated than I thought.

I knew that the price varies by how clear the mark on the bottom is, whether a number exists or not, if there are any chips or cracks in the porcelain, and if it has a sticker. But I didn’t know exactly what metrics to use or what the official names of the figurines were or if the numbers on the bottom under “Designed by Erich Stauffer” were unique to each porcelain figurine or if that ID number tied it to a set.

What I found out by researching the completed Ebay auctions from the last 6 months was that:

• Not all Erich Stauffer figurines had paper tags glued to the front, some used tags on a string
• The ID numbers seem to correspond to groups of figurines, meaning they were meant to be sets – making collecting all of the figurines to a set more valuable than the individual figurine
• Some of the Erich Stauffer figurines have the same name, even though they aren’t part of the same set
• Some ID numbers are also re-used, even if they are not part of the same set
• If the number has a division symbol (/) it may be a limited run or made to look like it was a limited run
• I don’t know what the S or the U at the beginning of the ID stood for/stands for
• The prices of Erich Stauffer figurines ranges from $1.86 to $20.89 each with this limited sample:

Arnart sold Hummel look-alike figurine with a crown label designed by German artist Erich Stauffer. Arnart was big importers of cheap Japansese goods in the 1950′s and 60′s, which also with a crown label.

The first Hummel figurines were sold in 1935. The figurines are all based on the drawings and paintings of children by sister Maria Innocentia Hummel. Much of the art was done in the 1930s.

In addition to figurines of children, there are figurines of saints – a stylistic departure from the figurines of playful children which was copied by Erich Stauffer for Arnart. Hummel and Erich Stauffer were both artists, but Hummel worked for Goebel and Stauffer worked for Arnart Imports (also known as Arnart Creations, among other names).

Hummels were made by Goebel up until June of 2008 when Goebel discontinued making them. It is important to note that Hummel is not a brand or a company, but a line of porcelain figurines distributed by the Goebel company. All Hummels are Goebel figurines, but not all Goebel figurines are Hummels.

Not only was the Japanese ceramic industry smaller in scale compared to the Chinese, but the porcelain marks were also applied for different reasons that on the Chinese porcelain. Personal signatures by the artists involved, such as Erich Stauffer, are quite common. We also find a different attitude towards what marks that are put on the Japanese porcelain and in particular the export porcelain from the 19th century and onwards.

The entire range of Imperial reign marks so common on Chinese porcelain, genuine or not, is mostly lacking. The marks are more commercially oriented, such as with Arnart Imports, are more numerous, and can vary even within a set of pieces. They can indicate the name of the factory, the potter, the decorator, the pattern, the customer, the exporter, the importer or both or a part of them or maybe just say “Made in Japan”, “Japan”, “Nippon”, “Happiness” or “Good luck” in any number of ways.

Increasing the confusion are the hundreds of porcelain decorating firms active in the early to mid 20th century simultaneously putting many different marks on the same wares seemingly at random but probably for some reason. To take just one example, the Noritake company which has been active for about one hundred years only, are thought to have used over 400 different marks.

Arnart Imports Inc., owner of the Erich Stauffer figurines, is still in operation and is currently located in 230 Fifth Avenue, New York. The company specializes in porcelain gifts and decorative accessories. First registrated trade mark is the Crown and A’s mark registred April 30, 1953. A mark looking like a bee hive, was first used the last of December 1957. Both were cancelled in 2001.

	Arnart Imports Inc., mark registred in 1957. Cancelled June 6th, 2001.
	Arnart Imports Inc., Crown and A’s mark in use since April 30, 1953. Cancelled February 17, 2001.
	Arnart Imports Inc., Crown and A’s mark in use since 1953 combined with the ‘bee hive’ in use since 1957, both cancelled in 2001.
	Arnart Imports Inc., Royal Carlton, was registred for porcelain tableware, in 1957; Royal Crown was registred for use on animal and bird figures 1965 – 1987. Several similar ‘Royal’ marks with a crown and a brand mark exists, all from the second half of the 20th century.

A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity (god), or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the figurine designer. The earliest figurines were made of stone or clay, but modern versions are made of porcelain, ceramic, metal, glass, wood, and plastic (think G.I. Joe’s and other action figures). Figurines with movable parts, which allow limbs to be posed, are more likely to be called dolls, mannequins, or action figures. If they can move on their own they are called robots or automata, depending on which part of the world you live in.

Figurines and miniatures are sometimes used in board games, such as chess, and tabletop games like Risk. Old figurines have been used to discount some historical theories, such as the origins of chess. Figurines are still used in digital games in the form of avatars or characters in a game that are manipulated by the player using a computer or gaming console.  In this sense, figurines are simply meant to represent something else, much like the original definition where we stated that figurines are “statuettes that represent a human, deity (god), or animal.

Porcelain figurines began in China. There are prehistoric figurines of pregnant women called Venus figurines, because of their presumed representation of a female goddess, or some connection to fertility. The two oldest known examples are made of stone, were found in Africa and Asia, and are several hundred thousand years old. Many made of fired clay have been found in Europe that date to 25-30,000 BC, and are the oldest ceramics known.

These early figurines are among the first signs of human culture. One cannot know in some cases how they were used, but we can hypothesize that they had religious or ceremonial significance and may have been used in many types of rituals. Many are found in burials, which helps back-up this hypothesis. Some may have been worn as jewelry or intended to amuse children, much the same way we use action figures to amuse children to today (or children or amused by figurines and dolls so we make more of them).

Porcelain and other ceramics are common materials for figurines. There are many early examples from China where it originated, which drove the experimentation in Europe to replicate the process. The first European porcelain figurines, produced in a process mastered in Germany were known as Meissen ware after the city where it began. Soon the technique was copied in other cities, such as Dresden.

Modern figurines, particularly those made of plastic are often referred to as figures. They can encompass modern action figures and other model figures as well as Precious Moments and Hummel figurines (which are not plastic), Bobbleheads and all kinds of memorabilia. Three companies which continue to produce figurines are Arnart, Royal Doulton, and Lladró.

Figurines of comic book or sci-fi/fantasy characters without movable parts have been referred to by the terms inaction figures (originally used to describe Kevin Smith’s View Askew figurines) and staction figures (a portmanteau of statue and action figures coined by Four Horsemen artists to describe Masters of the Universe figures). This is just an example of how figurines continue to evolve and change.

Crossed arrows were stamped in several countries as a porcelain brand. Whether this was in reference to the famous Meissen crossed swords, it should be presumed to be. Today, you will find mark crossed arrows on porcelain dishes, porcelain figurines, and knickknacks from the following countries:

• Germany: Kalk Porcelain Factory Eisenberg / Thuringia
• France: Paris porcelain factory Bloch (often with the addition: “PORCELAINE DE PARIS FRANCE”)
• Japan: Arnartcreation or Arnart (often with a multi-digit number)
• USA: Homco (Home Improvement Co.) (often with a multi-digit number, decorative name and / or artist name)

In addition, there are also hand-painted Markung crossed arrows, but the problem of a properly assigning them is that there were several companies that are used weapons as a trademark. For example, the porcelain factory, Rauenstein, crossed flags, the teat porcelain villages crossed spears, and Volkstedter porcelain factory used cruising signs, all of them together with a certain similarity which is presumably intended.  You can see how it can be hard to identify porcelain pieces to a manufacturer.

When looking at Arnart marks and seeing the different number combinations one tends to believe that there was some connection between Arnart and HOMCO. The marks themselves – and the items these marks appear on – are not HOMCO as the marks were registered by Arnart and the mold style, decoration and other marks clearly indicate Arnart as source. Arnart was in the replication business so they simply used a numbering system similar to HOMCO to better position themselves in the marketplace.  Arnart even went as far as to use the HOMCO numbering scheme for some Erich Stauffer figurines.