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Large Beautiful Owl Figurine made by Madeline Original, California 1950s
8.5″ Hand-Decorated Barn Owl
A very lovely large hand-decorated barn own figurines with an impressed mark for Madeline Original of California. It is glazed in a gorgeous green and rust-brown color, with a large white face and yellow eyes. I had never heard of this company! But thank goodness for good reference books.
Madeline and Paul Johnson operated Madeline Ceramics in Pasadena in 1948 through the 1950s, according to Chipman’s California Pottery Scrapbook. She was inspired by Sascha Brastoff and worked for a while as a Cleminson decorator (see p. 205 of Chipman). Her birds are “worth looking out for, but not easy to sight” (said about her toucans, p. 241).
This wonderful owl measures 8.5 inches high, 5 inches wide across the wings, and 4.25 inches deep across the foot. It is in very good condition. There is one pinhead-size flake at the top of the left wing (just visible in the photo at right). There is also a crack on the foot, from the center of the firing hold, but this is not structural nor visible.
The bottom has an impressed mark for “Madeline Originals / California / Made in U.S.A.”
George's Pottery 