Driving me 'potty' - possibly from England? Unknown mark

by Briar

Hi,

I bought this lamp at a garage sale after falling in love with it. Something just draws me to it - probably because it's just so "pretty".

The lady I bought it off, who knew a fair amount about old stuff - said it was made in England - and she called it the crinoline lady lamp from the 1950s or 1960s.

I have spent probably over a hundred hours trying to search for the factory that made this but I have come to the conclusion it is not vintage or antique. I don't mind that it's a repro, I didn't pay a lot and I have no intention of selling it, but I'd love to know the background.

The base looks similar to the Japanese made figurines that are in the crinoline/Dresden style, but the eyes are not. In fact, the eyes are a lot more detailed than plenty of other figurines I have come across in image searches and things while trying to research this lamp. While leads me on to the form. It's not very detailed yet a lot of work has gone into the painting detail and has had a lot more work put into the painting than the cheaper figurines I have seen online. The lady and her partner even have eyelashes - many others do not.

Also, they are very childlike compared to most other figurines and the man is very feminine. They are also a lot brighter than most which all add to the piece's charm. I have come across lamps which have a street lamppost but not this chimney-style lamp post. My other half even checked the light fitting and I found that it is a bakelite fitting made in Australia.

I have found a Belgium mark that is similar yet not identical to the mark on my piece. I can look at the back of the piece and virtually see a jumble of heaps of different marks in the painted part of the man's jacket at the back. A close look at the pictures shows either an A or a 77 to the left of the main impressed mark (candle stick/silhouette of man/silhouette of angel/lion roaring/horn/pound sign????) and then there's what looks like a love heart from some angles, an E and an R or an L and an R, a circular arrow and all other little symbols.

Did the painters get bored and used symbols to add detail to the work? Or this piece is a total p**s take with a bunch of fake symbols all over it? I particularly like the latter idea, and if this was the case I would like it even more especially if it was made in Australia because that would make sense (us Aussies have that kind of humour).

If anyone could please help it would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Briar