Tag Archives: i love lucy asian statues

California Pottery, Figurines, I love Lucy Props, Stewart B McCulloch

Pair of I Love Lucy style Stewart B McCulloch Asian Statues sold on eBay recently

Vintage Asian style pair of statues by STEWART B McCULLOCH
Vintage Asian style pair of statues by
STEWART B McCULLOCH

I noticed this mid-century pair of 14″ Asian style figurines by Stewart B McCulloch on eBay recently. Unusually, they were listed separately by the same seller. Bidding started  at US$98.00 for each statue with a Buy Now option. The Winning bid for the female statue was US$121.50 and the male companion statue  sold for a Buy it Now of US$250.00., both were bought by the same seller.
The statues are the same as the pair seen on the mantelpiece on I Love Lucy, except for minor differences, the pair on the show were pink instead of yellow – which we know from pictures of the original – see earlier post – and some differences in the hand painted floral motif on the garment.

Figurines, I love Lucy Props

Lucy’s Chinese Seated Woman Statue

Chinese seated statues on the Mantel - I Love Lucy
Chinese seated statues on the Mantel – I Love Lucy
Seated Chinese Woman Statue
Seated Chinese Scholar Statue

This is a Famille Rose Porcelain Statue of a scholar holding a book, made in China for export. It is often seen  on the I Love Lucy set, usually near the planter at the center of the mantelpiece. It represents a scholar holding  book. The pink robe reflects the fashion for using the color pink (or “rose” in french) for export market products and does not suggest this is a female, although collectors may mistakenly assume the character represents  a women. Other times it appears on a high shelf above the door to the kitchen, or as pictured above, it is placed on a table.  It is one of a pair of Chinese porcelain statues seen on the show. The other is the Chinese Famille Rose statue of a seated man mentioned in my previous post.
This statue is often listed under the name of Quan-Yin, the goddess. The pink statue pictured above shows a statue like the one on I Love Lucy that was sold on eBay recently details here.

It happens that there is a pair of very similar ones on eBay this week CLICK HERE to View.
See pictures from the current listing below: The pale pink one is very similar but the pose is a mirror image of the I love Lucy one. The second one on the listing is also very similar and the pose is correct  but the clothing is not patterned.

Quan-Yin statues Seen on eBay this week
Statues Seen on eBay this week
chinesestatue
This is very similar to the Chinese  statue on “I Love Lucy”

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California Pottery, Figurines, I love lucy, I love Lucy Props, Stewart B McCulloch

Another look at Lucy’s Asian Statue

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Comparison of recently sold prop to I love lucy screenshot of same item.

Here we have an interesting side by side comparison of a photo of the Asian statue prop that was sold at auction last year for $24,000, next to a screen capture from an I Love Lucy episode showing the Asian statue prop in use in that episode.

The auction picture is from the Premier Props auction and shows the recent condition of the figurine with obvious staining and markings.

At first glance the painting of  face and the cursive black details on the borders of the kimono appear to be a match although the b/w screen capture is blurred, this is significant because each statue was hand painted and therefore slightly different. Continue reading Another look at Lucy’s Asian Statue →

California Pottery, Figurines, I love lucy, I love Lucy Props, Restoration Project, Stewart B McCulloch

Project: I love Lucy Asian Statue Repaint

Asian statues on mantelpiece of I Love Lucy
Asian statues on mantelpiece of I Love Lucy

I have a pair of Asian man and woman statues similar to the pair of Asian statues on the mantelpiece of I love Lucy, however the colors are quite different from the pair on the show. I decided to try to repaint them to look like the I love Lucy set. I could use a special paint for use on porcelain that I saw at Dick Blick’s, and which can be baked on. However I decided on an ordinary acrylic paint because it will get the look I want and can be scrubbed off again to preserve the original statues as they were. Here is how they looked.

asianpairstatues
Asian Statues Before Repainting

Continue reading Project: I love Lucy Asian Statue Repaint →

California Pottery, Figurines, I love lucy, I love Lucy Props, Stewart B McCulloch

Lucy’s Pair of Chinese Statues

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A rare and easily recognized Asian figurine from the mantelpiece of the I love Lucy living room set appeared at a Premiere Props auction on Sept 28, 2013. It sold for $24,000. This statue was one of a pair that was seen on the mantelpiece throughout most of the series. Continue reading Lucy’s Pair of Chinese Statues →

Figurines, I love lucy, I love Lucy Props

I love Lucy’s Mantel Statues: Seated Chinese Man Figurine

Lucy's Chinese Statue
Lucy’s Chinese Statue

This week on eBay there is a rare Chinese statue that will no doubt be familiar to I Love Lucy fans because it is just like one seen on the mantelpiece in most of the episodes, I did not know much about this statue until I saw the listing  of a similar one on eBay Click here for details. See also picture below. It is a seated figure of a man with what could be a bundle of Taro and holding a scythe in his left hand. This statue was made in the 30’s – 40’s and seems to be quite rare. It is a well made porcelain statue from the Jingdezhen region of China that was known for fine ceramics for centuries. This one listed as Famille Rose period that takes its name from the opaque paint used in made for export porcelain items from China.

Chinese Famille Rose Porcelain Man Figurine on eBay
Chinese Famille Rose Porcelain Man Figurine on eBay

From the listing description:

ANTIQUE 1930’s CHINESE PORCELAIN STATUE

REPUBLIC PERIOD (1912-1949)

中华民国 / 中華民國

FROM THE JINGDEZHEN KILNS

SIGNED: YOU LONG SHENG (游隆盛)