Need Help in Identifying Signed Clay Ceramic Plaque Artistocratic Family Whimsical

[lemonheads]

Need Help in Identifying Signed Clay Ceramic Plaque Artistocratic Family Whimsical in a boat/ferry with their dog. Vintage red clay ceramic with  white glaze on the top of the plaque and then drawing the image so that red comes through.   The left flag on the "boat" is the flag of Australia, and the left flag is the sign of infinity.  

There is a signature on the backside which, depending on how you look at it, is S.M. or  W.S.   But I think it is the former.  I noticed that there is a small circle drawn on each point of the initial "M" if that helps identify this piece.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.  I have spent time of and on in trying to find some information on this piece with no look.  Hopefully someone out there has better detective skills than I do.   Thanks, Beth

[sonomabarn67]

Looks mid-century Danish. If not, Scandianavian.

[maxine*j]

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@lemonheads wrote:

... The left flag on the "boat" is the flag of Australia...

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I don't see that as the flag of Australia.  It's true the Australian flag has six stars, but they're arranged very specifcally as five stars of the Southern Cross constellation and one Commonwealth star.   (Plus, there's the Union Jack in the corner, of course.)

[lemonheads]

Thanks, I take it you were basing your feedback based on their clothing? Or on something else?

Thanks for your input.  

[lemonheads]

Thanks for your input.  I thought the same as I read about the Australian flag, but then realized that because the drawing was not finite, and rather whimsical, that that's all they could fit on he banner. .  The flag also shows an infinity flag on the left of the boat or ferry with the infinity symbol. The blue infinity flag is a Metis national flag and represented the political and military force of the Metis as early as 1816, gathering from what I read on google, but with no color background, hard to say.

I may be going down the wrong path, but will keep searing, and I appreciate your taking the time to comment.

Beth

[sonomabarn67]

The overall style of the Nordic presentation/artwork. I've seen similar before in the form of tiles. plates, etc. Usually they are Danish.

[maxine*j]

There are several national flags, some still in use and some not, with six stars, though, so I'd be careful assigning it to any one of them just based on the number.  Anyhow, it's a charming piece.

[maxine*j]

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@sonomabarn67 wrote:

The overall style of the Nordic presentation/artwork. I've seen similar before in the form of tiles. plates, etc. Usually they are Danish.

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I agree it has a Scandinavian (Danish / Norwegian / Swedish) look to it.  And all those countries do have royal families.

[argon38]

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@lemonheads wrote:

I may be going down the wrong path

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My guess is that you are - I don't think anything can be deduced from the flags. They're just fun designs from the mind of the artist.

[maxine*j]

I wonder if that boat / ship is supposed to be a paddle steamer, a sidewheeler?  If so, that might be a clue

[sonomabarn67]

That's what it looks like but in a romantic sense. The piece was done by a mid-century artist (RM). Searching Nordic artists like Lisa Larson or Stig Lindberg might bring clues. There is a whole school of art that looks like this plaque. What about that the man has military medals and his wife has no ornamentation?

[argon38]

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@sonomabarn67 wrote:
Searching Nordic artists like Lisa Larson or Stig Lindberg might bring clues.

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Looking at this figurine by Lisa Larson, I can certainly see what you're getting at:

https://www.starkeld.com/shop/ceramics-2/sweden/lisa-larson-2/cromo-amalia-by-lisa-larson/ 

[sonomabarn67]

Mother Sweden is a site filled with many different Nordic objects by many different artists/ objects.

https://www.mothersweden.com/artists.html?twsList-69357435-article-group-custom-page=g-articleNumber... 

[lemonheads]

thank you!. Looks like a family on vacation so that would make sense.

[lemonheads]

Maxine - Thank you for this information. "Charming" is a good word for this piece.