Antisemitic figurine - Fagin. England, c. 1910

Antisemitic figurine - Fagin. England, c. 1910

Fagin Holding the Money Bag - Anti-Semitic Ceramic Figurine made by Bretby. Original version released by the Bretby Sun Ray company between 1910-1920, numbered 3162.

Ceramic figurine in the form of Fagin. The figurine depicts Fagin holding a money bag. Fagin holds his ginger beard with one hand, in his other hand he holds the money bag, and his body is leaning forward. Wearing a long, dark green coat and black shoes. Rectangular base in light brown color. On the front is stamped "Fagin" on the inside of the base is stamped: "Made in England", the Bretby Sun Ray company stamp and the number 3162 on the bottom side.

Fagin's character depicted as a Jewish criminal and leader of a gang of child pickpockets is taken from Charles Dickens' novel 'Oliver Twist' [published in 1838], the stereotypical character appears in the book as a Jew in unkempt clothes and wild hair. In the novel, Fagin is described in an extremely blatant way as a wicked villain and schemer who teaches children how to steal and tries to corrupt Oliver's character. Fagin is mentioned many times not by his first name, but by the epithet "the Jew", and his character was a common anti-Semitic subject in figurines and various tabletop figures across Europe in the 19th century and early 20th century.

Height: 22 cm. Maximum diameter: 10 cm. Very good condition (no cracks).