ABINGDON POTTERY SHEPHERDESS & FAWN

Description

Designed by Francis Moody, Abingdon Pottery made the original #3906 Shepherdess & Fawn figure in 1937-38.  After the Pottery closed, molds were not destroyed & were occasionally used by other potteries or individuals to produce pieces.  This Shepherdess & Fawn was one of a few made from the original mold in the 1980-90s by Abingdon personnel as mentioned on page 35 in the 1997 "Abingdon Pottery Artware" book by Joe Paradis.  A slightly smaller, less-detailed version with white glaze was made - not from the original mold - by Western Stoneware in Monmouth IL as a commemorative piece for the Abingdon Pottery Collectors 25th Anniversary in 2002.  So, with 3 versions of this figure, it is important to understand its origin.
I purchased this piece in 1982 from Leonard Nerl, an Abingdon Pottery employee, who used the original mold to make it.  The clay color, glaze color, & blue stamped bottom markings with his stamped signature clearly show that it is not one of the original figures made in the Abingdon factory in the 1930s.  While the reference book indicates that the later pieces made from the original mold had a six-fingered hand on the fawn's head, this one appears to have a thumb & four fingers on that hand.   The foil Abingdon label on the front of the oval base is an original factory label, another item that was acquired by Abingdon personnel after the art pottery line closed.
The original figure was made in various Abingdon glaze colors, sometimes highlighted in gold by an outside firm.  This one made from the original mold has a soft gray glaze.  It is almost 11-1/2 inches tall, almost 3-1/2 inches wide at its widest point, & about 4-1/2 inches deep from her front foot to her back foot.  The oval base is 5 inches in diameter.
While she is not an original 1937-38 Shepherdess & Fawn made at the factory, she was made in Abingdon IL from one of the same molds that still had good definition.  This has been an attractive shelf piece for me for almost 40 years & is in excellent 1980s vintage condition - no chips or hairlines or crazing.
Ships USPS.