-
Recent Posts
- Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays: Curious Cases – Steel & Ferrous Metal
- How It Works – Lost Wax Casting for Walter Bosse
- Hertha Baller vs Herta Baller? Lets Clear Things Up…
- Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays: Part 3 – All the Hedgehogs!
- Walter Bosse Figurines: “Baroque” Series
Recent Comments
- Meray virginie on Sneak Peek: Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays Reissue
- Modern Vienna Bronze on Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays: Part 2 – Rare Models and Marks
- Nattan on Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays: Part 2 – Rare Models and Marks
- Modern Vienna Bronze on Virtual Museum
- Edward Stanza on Virtual Museum
Archives
- January 2020
- December 2019
- October 2019
- June 2019
- April 2019
- February 2018
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- April 2012
- January 2012
- October 2011
- August 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- March 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- June 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
- October 2008
Categories
Meta
Monthly Archives: October 2019
Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays: Part 3 – All the Hedgehogs!
Lately I’ve noticed some confusion when it comes to authenticating Walter Bosse hedgehog ashtrays. Whether you own a set already and want to check them or are looking to possibly buy a set of your own and want to make sure it’s real and not fake, I thought it would be good to clarify some points. I’ve decided to put together a list of all the hedgehogs I’ve come across in the wild that are authentic.
What I want everyone to keep an eye out for when looking at all these sets is the diverse variation. All of them are different and unique in some way or another. As they were all made by hand, some have funny drilled eyes, some have shorter legs, some babies don’t have X legs at all. The old sand casting method that was used to make these was not a very precise way of casting and would result in all kinds of shape variations with each set.
One thing to note, I’ve very rarely come across a set that is brass and is fake. Most often, the fake sets are made of another metal entirely and that makes them very easy to spot. The only fake brass set I have seen is a very funny looking French set that I have listed here. I am also starting to come around on the very sharply cast and polished sets that often have a green coloration in the patina and a mottled texture. It looks somewhat like it has been sponge painted on. I think these sets were not done directly by Bosse, but by the foundries he contracted with in the 1960s when he was in Germany. They were most likely using his original molds, but cast them without his knowledge because he left them with unpaid debts (and this was their way of recouping them). But that is a post for another day (keep an eye out on the Blog for that if you are interested)!
So lets jump in to some Walter Bosse hedgehog goodness!
And here’s a gallery of authentic babies (or littlest hedgehogs in the ashtray set). Check out all the variations, especially the length of the legs and spines and the location and detail of the drilled eyes. Also, some spines are a lot more rounded than others.
I will update this page with any new hedgehogs I find, so keep checking back in the future to see the latest!
Posted in Bosse Blog
Tagged ashtrays, authentication, dishes, markings, nesting bowls, original hedgehog, patina, polishing, porcupine, real vs. fake, tell the difference, texture, trays, Walter Bosse
Leave a comment