Mexican Barro Negro Woman-Shaped Bell hollywood regency Very finely made

Very finely made

With its bold lines and high gloss finish (in variegated pastels on front and back

This piece was created at  Lapid Pottery Works in Tel Aviv

which included a collection of several other Indonesian nutcrackers

it is uncertain exactly the purpose they served

Mexican Barro Negro Woman-Shaped Bell hollywood regency Very finely madeWhen I saw this Mexican woman shaped bell at an antique shop going out of business in Liberty, Missouri, I immediately thought of Velasquezs las Meninas.Like the infanta at the center of that painting, she seems posed and self possesed, head slightly turned and arms positioned at the top of voluminous skirt, with an expression that renders her forever elusive. I find her super compelling, Plus she hides a bell beneath that shirt! She is emblematic of