Conta & Boehme “The Orphans” Fairing Figurine

Offered for sale is an utterly charming late 19th century "Fairing" group produced by Conte & Boehme entitled "The Orphans". It is modelled as three pug or terrier type dogs seated on and around an armchair. Beautifully hand painted it has an impressed number 1887 on the underside of the base. and the Conte Boehme "shield" mark. Fairing refers to a small porcelain ornament depicting a variety of scenes, humorous, political or domestic. The ornament almost always incorporates a base and many fairings have a caption describing the scene or making some point inscribed on that base. China fairings are so named because they were given away as prizes at fairs in the Victorian era, although some were manufactured simply for sale. They first started appearing in the middle of the nineteenth century and remained popular until the start of the First World War.