Fox hood orniment

[allthegearnoidea]

Hi all i found this hood orniment in my fathers effects and saw this forum
so i wondered if you could give me any info on it for example what type of car did it come from how old is it and is it of any value ?





It seems like its well made and is very heavy

[allthegearnoidea]

With the flat mounting surface, I don't think it is a hood ornament. If it is, it is aftermarket and of little value

Thanks for replying my sister has just told me it used to be on the front of my fathers Bentley he must have bought it to replace one that was stolen

[TheMoneyPit]

Is there a makers mark on the bottom? Your mascot looks very simmilar to one made by Legune (?sp) and may be marked. If so, the only way to know value for sure is to place it on e-bay and see where it ends. As far as little value for aftermarket mascots, I've seen them sell for far more money than some of the factory items - it is all a matter of quality and desire to own...

[allthegearnoidea]

I have looked underneath it and under the foxes belly there is a name its very
difficult to make out but its something like Harriet Glen

[allthegearnoidea]

I have found the name Harriet Glen on the internet and she is a sculptress who works mainly with bronze sculpting animals so i should think it is one of hers

[allthegearnoidea]

Totally agree mate some things just dont mix. i think it may look ok on my old land rover though.
my old man even had a pair of fluffy dice hanging from the mirror (Sad)

[Shop Rat]

I have found the name Harriet Glen on the internet and she is a sculptress who works mainly with bronze sculpting animals so i should think it is one of hers

Most likely it was afixed to a decorative base of some sort that was damgaged and someone kept the sculpture. Since there was information about the artist
on the internet you might want to check into the value it might have as a work of art before you put it on the hood of a vehicle. Some statues like that are pretty pricey.

[West Peterson]

I think there is a lot more value to it than what John is trying to tell you. And, personally, I believe it would look quite nice and would be more than appropriate for the "hunting" crowd for which the Bentley would have been owned.

It's a little hard to tell from the photos, but there seems to be quite a bit of detail in the sculpture, which would make it desirable. Many, many, many mascots that were put on automobiles did not "suggest speed."

While the term "aftermarket" may suggest "little value," most of the more expensive and desirable mascots are aftermarket. Original automotive manufacturer mascots are desirable and expensive as well, but not nearly as valuable as the "aftermarket" ones.

I would not mind having the fox in my collection.

[jeff_a]

Well, if anyone finds one of those aftermarket hood ornaments that say "Lalique" on them, especially if it's an eagles head, made out of glass, and has a little wire to light it up at night, I'll take one or two. They may not be worth much, but please insure it for $3,000. No particular reason.

[Terry Bond]

West, didn't know you collected mascots? We could have spent more time looking through the collection at my place-so many good stories and so little time...

You are right that there are a lot of very nice after-market mascots out there. Quality is everything in those, and early bronze pieces signed by noted makers are always in demand. There has to be something exciting or interesting in the sculpture though, and the fox is just a little on the plain side. From the looks of the sturdy mounting I'd say it was actually made as a mascot rather than just something screwed on the hood of a car. Don't know if the piece shown here is chrome or not, or what the base metal is. Chrome would date it very late 20's or 30's. Nickle would be earlier. If it's die-cast metal it's worth less than if it's plated bronze. Some people collect based on a theme-animals for example. I happened to have ended up with a lot of birds in my collection.

Interesting topic. Maybe we should open up a thread in the Automotive Art forum.

Terry

[West Peterson]

Terry
I shouldn't have said "collection." I try not to "collect" anything, but I have a few things of a lot of different automotive tangent collectibles.
It has already been determined that the piece in question here is not a period piece. It is fairly new, done by Harriet Glen. Some of her pieces are quite expensive, which you can gather by going to her website.
I still wouldn't mind having the fox. So before it gets thrown away, give me a holler.

[Barry Wolk]

Fight you for it, West!

[West Peterson]

What kind of handicap do I get? Without help either physically or monetarily, I don't stand a chance.

[Barry Wolk]

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

[Terry Bond]

West, careful not to get "out-foxed" in this trade.
Terry

[Terry Bond]

Remember, three of anything is a collection. Two is only a pair. One is just a start.
Do I need to post "Terry's Rules of Collecting" again?

Terry

[TheMoneyPit]

Terry - You and Sherman use that same line, only you have to add in that somewhere there is a fine line between "collection" and "obsession" which I have not yet found...

Good thing AAA does not stand for Antique Automobiles Anonymous!

[Barry Wolk]

There's also a fine line between fishing, and standing on the shore, looking like an idiot.

------Steven Wright



I'll let you go for this one, West. It is beautiful, but I'm running out of room and I never want to move, ever again.

[Shop Rat]

Here is a link to a couple pieces of Harriett Glen's sculptures. I think the fox is supposed to be on a base. I would contact her and send a photo of the fox and find out for sure if it is her work and if so what value would she put on it. It could always be put on another base.

Equestrian and Animal Jewellery and Sculpture by Harriet Glen

[TheMoneyPit]

Lets see, her smaller pieces were around 100 pounds... turned into dollars it would have been cheaper to buy another winged B for the Bentley.

Granted, not as expensive as the "puss-in-boots" mascot on e-bay last week, but not your average J. C. Whitney junk either.