Lot 186283: Goebel M.I. Hummel 1985 Annual Plate "Chick Girl" Hum 278, 15th Edition

Auction

Estate Auction: Multiple-Estate Liquidation Roseville, CA (191)

Lot Number

186283

Status

Sold

Hammer / Price

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Opening Bid

$5.00

Accepted Bids

7

Closed

3/19/26 7:09 PM PT

Description

A 1985 M.I. Hummel Annual Collector Plate, 15th edition, model Hum 278, "Chick Girl," produced by W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik in Rödental, West Germany. The design, based on the original artwork of Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel (1909–1946) and the Hummel figurine #57, depicts a young girl in a red headscarf feeding chicks from a basket, rendered in polychrome bas-relief against a cream ground with an airbrushed brown-gradient rim. The plate measures approximately 7.5 inches (19 cm) in diameter and features thirty-three small raised stars encircling the outer rim, consistent with the series format. The front bears an impressed stylized "M.J. Hummel" signature at lower left. The reverse bears the blue circular Goebel backstamp ("W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik, Rödental, West Germany" / TMK-6, "The Missing Bee," in use 1979–1991), the "50 Jahre 1935–1985 M.I. Hummel-Figuren" commemorative roundel marking the 50th anniversary of Hummel figurine production, trilingual edition text (English, French, German) identifying the plate as the fifteenth edition, and additional markings including "HANDPAINTED," "NOT TO BE USED FOR FOOD," "© Goebel," and the copyright date "1973." The Annual Plate series was inaugurated in 1971 to commemorate the centenary of the Goebel factory; this 1985 issue is notable for its special anniversary backstamp. The plate was likely modeled by master sculptor Gerhard Skrobek, the principal modeler for the Goebel Hummel plate series during this period. Condition: visible crazing (fine network of surface cracks in the glaze) across the front, particularly on the cream background; accompanied by its original box. The footed base retains two pierced holes in the rear rim for wall display.