Vintage INARCO Ceramic Santa Waving on Chimney with Bag 1950’s

colorful hand painted mid-century Santa standing on a chimney top holding his bag and waving.

 

The molded lightweight ceramic was made in Japan and hand painted in bright Christmas colors. The shallow square foot is unglazed. The base is glazed with the production number E-2680 is stamped under the glaze. There is also a black and gold foil paper label on the bottom with the words “INARCO” and “Japan” wrapped around a world map.

 

 

2 ½” (6.4 cm) wide x 2 ½” (6.4 cm) deep x 6” (15.2 cm) tall. Weighs 5.5 oz (160 g)

 

 

There are no breaks, chips, cracks, or repairs. There is a glaze frit on the corner of the base, as well as painting flaws, such as red paint on the bag, painting mistakes, and misses. The white glaze on the back of the bag has many trapped air bubbles with a light green color cast. This green has pooled and concentrated under the bottom of the bag. My guess is that there was an impurity in the glaze that separated out during the firing process. Other than the gold on the pom pom on the hat, and a couple of spots on Santa’s red coat, there is very little wear to the paint. The colors are still very bright and looks like new.

 

A great looking Santa figurine from a well-known Mid-century ceramics company to add to a collection and display at Christmas. It’s very nostalgic.