Handsome vintage French Provencal Santon Clay Doll Figure Village Wine Maker Vintner

13 inches tall

Signed on clay base S. Jouglas for Simone Jouglas

All terra cotta clay except for arms, which can be posed

Hand painted facial features and hair

Dressed in tan corduroy trousers, checkered fabric shirt, fabric print and satin backed vest

Tan knit toque hat with red yarn tassel and red fabric cravat bandana

He holds a green glass wine bottle and wooden barrel

Black painted shoes

No fading, no wear

He weighs .58 kg or just over 1 1/4 lb before packaging

French Santon dolls and figures are an age old tradition in France, made from terra cotta clay by craftsmen and artists. They began as religious creche figures and figures of Saints, and then they began to make them to honour the everyday Saints of regular French life, the villagers and peasants and workers. Simone Jouglas was born in 1905 and died in 2001. The only one to survive the war in her family, she began making Santon dolls in the late 30s after entering the Academy of Fine Arts of Marseilles as a ceramicist and is credited for being the first artist to dress a Santon in fabric clothing. She carefully carved the clay for their intricate faces and used cloth rescued or remnants made in France. She continued making the dolls until her death but her workshop still operates using original clay moulds.