I bought these four figurines and after doing some research found they could be Giuseppe Armani. Can anyone confirm and also tell me if they are worth anything?
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Normally on the bottom of the figurines, there is some sort of marking or even number. Have you looked there to see if they have anything on the bottom of each one of them that you can share with us. It would make it a lot easier to identify them if we had this number.
Hi! These are very cool.
I am curious how you came to decide they are Armani? G. Armani pieces are typically marked on a plaque or in a signature somewhere on the piece. Usually the side, sometimes on the bottom.
I sold many of these when I worked in a variety of gift shops and these do not look like his style. These are much too whimsical. His pieces were much more traditional. Granted, I am sure I have not seen every piece they ever made, but at first blush...these are NOT Armani...but who are they? That is the question!
They are very interesting and highly stylized like the viking princess and the gal with the sunglasses. Whimsy is the only word I keep going back to on these which does not match with any of the traditional sellers I sold.
Can you show the bottoms and tell me how tall they are?
What are they (ceramic--smooth, bisque--rough)?
I sold many brands in my day and these are so unique. Maybe with some more info I can figure something out or I can see if I can find them in any of my reference books.
Do you know what year they are from?
Thanks in advance for more info! I hope I can help!
I looked on their website and saw that items grom the collection considered "P" were not on plinths. I'm kind of guessing they are probably fake, just need someone to confirm. I did find this though on ebay which is the exact replica of one of mine
Thanks for posting with more info and the photos! Wow!! This is a line of GA's that I have never seen. I wonder if they were only sold in the UK. Are you in the UK? Just curious.
The coloring on yours is quite different than the ones in the photos and the ones online are marked...which just leaves this open to more questions.
My suggestion is to take them to a vintage dealer who specializes in these pieces and have them looked at.
I would do this for two reasons...one, they can tell you if they are real or fakes (I am leaning to really good fakes...but I have been wrong before and I hope I am).
Two selling these online if you are not an experienced seller is going to be a nightmare for two reasons...one of which is the new set of scams hitting new sellers and two is shipping something this fragile is more than a challenge and even the most carefully packed items are getting smushed into a million pieces when being shipped. So this makes my recommendation to sell on line a big NO!
A reputable dealer will sell them for you and you will get a percentage of the sale. No shipping, no muss, no fuss.
If you don't want to go this route, I am going to defer to long time poster cybergrannie and hope she weighs in with the place she always recommends to give free online appraisals. You can always find out what you have that way and sell it in a local venue where you don't have to ship.
Please post back with an update! I am so curious what you have here!! Thanks agian for sharing and the additional info!! Blessings!
Thank you for your reply. The GA website states they do a pastel shade of most of their figures. I'm torn between thinking they are real to fakes. They certainly look & feel old and they seem to be very intricately painted.
I never realized until recently just how many unique items the UK sold that we didn't in the US. It is like a whole new world is opening up to me as a collector--re-seller.
Hopefully cybergrannie can give her site soon and then you know. I had it saved, but can't lay my fingers on it at the moment.
I am going to continue to follow this and keep my fingers crossed that yours are real!! They fetch quite a bit (SOLD prices) if they are real!!
These are great! At auction you could go above $1000,insure them,they are delicate pieces, and often get damage !
There are a lot of knockoffs on these. I would check with a dealer.
Ive read that there is no substitute for Armani on the statue or on the bottom. It says if it does not have that marking, then they are not real.
I did find you a website with a lot of examples of GA figurines. As I cannot see your pic well, I cant tell exactly which ones yours may be. Maybe you can find them on here and it will at least help you in identifying them.
Here is the link below:
giuseppearmani.org/
Good luck!
You have lovely items but I have been collecting Giuseppe Armani items for over 50 years and I can truthfully say that I have never seen a genuine Armani that did not have a marking of some kind.
Probably about 95% of Armani items are on wooden stands and the marking will many times be on the wood stand and also on the piece itself.
I just cannot see anyone deliberately removing the wooden stands and placing felt on the bottom of the piece.
There are some pieces that may not be on a wooden stand but even then the piece will have markings such as this (although this a special piece);
Armani has several distinct markings so you have to research to make sure the marks are genuine.
www.bonanza.com/
Here is Giuseppe Armani link that has some information and the second link is a data base of figurines but you need the product number and of course that is not always available.
giuseppearmani.org/
Replacements has several of these pieces and you may be able to ask them about your 4 pieces. They will usually answer question in a few days.
www.replacements.com/
I use free online appraisal services frequently and usually receive all the information I need.
You can check these out (some are easier to use than others so check each one). If you try several of these you will need several good pictures and close ups of at least one item as well as the bottom and also size.
www.whatsellsbest.com/
Christie's is very good but so are some of the others.
We all hope you have genuine items so please let us know what you find out.
Thank you that is all very useful information. The fact they are not on stands made me question their authenticity plus the fact there is no markings on them at all. I only paid £2 at a car boot sale so if they turn out to be fakes I haven't lost out. I think they are gorgeous either way.
I certainly agree. They are lovely and I have some 'knock-offs' that I treasure as much as the genuine items.
These deserve to be displayed in a prominent place so everyone can enjoy your marvelous find.
You certainly found a bargain which has very little to do with 'current value'.
Cybergrannie is the best with her GA knowledge and her resources! I am so glad she weighed in here!!!! I sold bazillions of GA pieces when I worked in Hallmark/gift shops, but she collected them, which I had forgotten!
Whether they are real or not, you got an amazing bargain and if you love them display them to enjoy!
If I may make one suggestion, that if you do go through and get appraisals/authentications, records of the response should be kept with all of your important papers.
It is important for the next generation to know real or not, for these, and quite frankly anything you collect or items that are special to you.
I was working on this with a client last year and it is something critical needed for estate planning...no matter what your age!
Post back what you learn if you send for more info!! I am so curious!
I have contacted the GA website and am in the process of finding someone local to me that can value them. I will let you know the outcome. Thank you all for the help with this. I'm not au fait with antiques so this has been an eye opener.
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