Purzel gnome by H Groth, Lauterbach, Germany
A rare garden gnome of the fifties shown in it's original state. Manufactured by Hans Groth and made in ceramic. 'Model 808 The 'hitchhiker' is a fine specimen of his work. Hans Groth manufactured gnomes and other figures towards the end of the 1950's. The garden gnomes tended to be naively modelled in ceramic and were sold as 'original Lauterbacher, Purzel ceramics' The gnomes were carefully hand painted and varnished and were quite distinct in their appearance. Their eyes were large and wide and very simplistically painted. Their noses are turned up at the end in a similar manner to the Heissner gnomes of today.
The height of the gnome shown below is approx 24.5cm (10inches) and always came with the distinctive green and silver label attached. The weight would have been approx. 0.6 kg.
'The Hitchhiker'
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Catalogue No 808 |
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A typical set of six, 5˝ inches tall c.1957 modelled by Gunter Griebel |
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