Auction 35
First sale for 2025 - low opening prices
By NeverLand Collectibles
Contact auction house
Jan 27, 2025
קפלן 18 יהוד-מונסון, Israel
Terms of sale
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Collections of porcelain, dozens of quality car models, bonsai, African art, crystal fossils, gems and more. No VAT charge on the commission!
Deliveries: Registered mail 30 NIS. Courier mail 70 NIS.
The auction has ended
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LOT 290:
DE GOUDEN GAPER Signed Gapher Head Figurine Made in the Netherlands - Figurine number 2 from a collection of 24 ...
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Start price:
$
10
Buyer's Premium: 20%
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DE GOUDEN GAPER Signed Gapher Head Figurine Made in the Netherlands - Figurine number 2 from a collection of 24 figurines
Miniature head figurine "Gaffer" year 2003 made of handmade cast material.
The height of the figurine is 7 cm. New in the original packaging!!!
"A gaper is a sculpture of the head of a man, usually of southern, Moorish or Muslim origin, with a gaping mouth and often with a protruding tongue. Gapers, true folk art products, occur only in the Netherlands and Flanders.
In ancient times, the Roman bathhouses had the task of ridding citizens of evil spirits. By beatings and massaging, the spirits could be massaged out of the bloodstream with herbs and oils. This was a painful event in which the skin turned very red. In order to really let the evil spirit leave the body through the mouth.
A gaper served as a sign for pharmacists, among other things, to attract customers, but also as a quality indicator for the shop. Initially, this sign was placed on the awning, but from the 17th century onwards it was increasingly attached to the facade, especially in Amsterdam this was common. The gaper's mouth is not open to yawn, but to let the evil (sick) spirit leave the body and thus cure From a disease.
Some of the goblins have a ball on their tongue, as if they are taking medicine. The grimace of many of the discrepancies can be explained by the fact that the medicine tastes good. The goblins are not originally directly connected to the pharmacy. The goblins used to have the same function as the house numbers that were introduced much later (later also name plates), namely to show who lives/works in the building. For example, goblins are depicted on the facades of a wide variety of shops and studios, not necessarily pharmacists. There is no theory supported by sufficient sources as to how the connection between the goblins on the one hand and pharmacists and pharmacies on the other hand came about."
