Fontanini Depose Italy carnival plastic figures

By bbsbcastle, 24 January, 2010
Description

I found this collection of Fontanini Depose figures in a display case in a flea market. I can't find anything like them. The box is marked Maschere, which means "masks". They appear to be associated with Carnival. From what I've learned, I assume each of these is one of the traditional characters for that festival.

Anybody know more about this? Am I right or wrong about anything, everything?

Any clue of the value?

Thanks for looking, and in advance for any help.

Category
General Antiques and Collectibles
Medium
White plastic, made to look like ivory.
Distinguishing marks
Depose Italy and spider mark on base of each
Condition
Good
Size and dimensions of this item
Each figure is about 2.5" tall
Date Period
1950s?
Weight
Maybe 1/2 pound for all of them
History
Found in a flea market.
eBay Auction Link
Price Paid (If known)
$10
For Sale?
No
Photos

mindbogglz

15 years 5 months ago

I have a variety of Fontanini Depose Italy figurines so have done a bit of research. In business since 1908 & still operating. A good history... http://www.angelfire.com/in/thespidermark/history.html

Do yours have the spider mark?

Value depends upon rarity, if retired, if handpainted, & age/composition. Early Fontanini figures were produced using plaster or paper mache. The lifetime of each figure was limited, so the Fontanini family experimented with different materials until they chose nearly indestructible polymer resin. Each piece produced was historically researched for accuracy in the detail/story of the piece. The master Fontanini artist E. Simonetti retired in 1979. Values range from $10/each to hundreds...can be pretty valuable, for resin! And, I just found out my ceramic kneeling Santa is apparently a Fontanini.

I just joined a collector group http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=fontanini+fanatics to see if I can get help/interest in mine. Also, search completed Ebay listings & rubylane, tias, goantiques, trocadero, etc. There is even collector software specific for them! http://www.krausebooks.com/product/fontanini-collection-v11-software/an…

Good luck! Yours do seem great since it is a full set, in box.

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Thanks for the information. I appreciate the links.

Yes. These pieces have the spider mark. I've see a similar item (as to the type of plastic) online, but it was much larger. As they said, it looks like they were trying to make the plastic look like ivory. The black spots look like paint to try and give it that effect.

They are made of a flexible plastic, like "army men",but the details are much better of course. They're not the hard resin like you see things made of now.

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