Goebel M. I. Hummel
Hummel Porcelain
The designer of Hummel was a nun named Berta Hummel who was born in a family of artists in Bavaria, Germany.
In 1927, Berta studied in the Munich Art Academy. She had began demonstrating her artistic talents during high school, and in 1931 she graduated as a top student in national exams. After graduation she chose an internship at a local church, and in August 22nd, 1933, she was officially given the Christian name Maria Innocentia and the following year made the religious oath.
Since then, Hummel began her own variety of creativity and determined her main creative style – little chubby children illustrated with a touch of humour. At that time, Nazi propaganda was focused on “blond” Aryan race and described her creations as “vulgar and naive works”.
Nonetheless, her lively sense of humour was transmitted through her endearing, childlike works and gained wide public recognition.
The famous German Goebel porcelain factory transformed Hummel’s paintings into lively porcelain dolls. The Goebel porcelain factory has always been famous for porcelain, vases, tableware and other daily necessities, and pieces from world-class artists. During World War II, the Goebel porcelain factory was forced to shut down, but after the war, permission was immediately granted to resume production of the most popular porcelain souvenirs amongst American soldiers stationed in Germany.
Hummel porcelain production process and the value of the collection
Colouring each item often takes a whole day, as all the processes must be hand-painted by a trained artist. After colouring is completed, the artist will stamp the year of manufacture onto the piece. Each porcelain mould is discarded after 20 times of usage, and therefore, there will be slight nuances of colours, sizes and shapes. In addition to MI Hummel there is also Berta Hummel, which has not received the authorisation certification from the Sießen monastery. Such pieces are without the Hummel number, marked with MI Hummel and Goebel tags KBA tags only, and most are not produced locally in Germany. Every genuine MI Hummel porcelain is attached with an exclusive corresponding number and the names of craftsmen in every porcelain piece.