Vintage Mortens Studio 9\" St. Bernard Dog Newfoundland Dog Marked Figurine 1930s For Sale

The vintage Mortens Studio 9\" St. Bernard Dog figurine from the 1930s is a handmade collectible piece marked as a Newfoundland dog.
Made with ceramic in the United States, this figurine captures the essence of a Saint Bernard with intricate details and craftsmanship. Perfect for collectors of dog figurines or those with a love for vintage decor, this unique piece offers a charming addition to any collection or home. It is a heavy, solid piece.
This Saint Bernard is in very good vintage condition. It includes the Mortens Studio sticker under the dog\'s belly. There are small paint chips on the right side of the figurine. Please see pictures for details.
From A Dog\'s Tale website:
Mortens Studio dog figurines are mid-century American ceramic pieces produced between approximately 1940 and 1970, primarily in the United States. Often called simply “Mortens Studio” by collectors, these hand-painted pieces are among the most recognizable American dog figurines ever made — instantly identifiable by their lifelike poses, warm earth-toned glazes, and a distinctive quality issue that paradoxically makes them more interesting to collectors: crazing.
If you have ever held a Mortens Studio dog figurine, you know exactly what makes them special. The weight, the fine detail on the fur, the intensity in the eyes — these pieces were made by craftspeople who clearly loved dogs. That quality, combined with their affordable price point and the enormous variety of breeds produced, has made Mortens Studio one of the most actively collected names in vintage American ceramics.

What made Mortens Studio distinctive in the American market was the method of construction. The figurines were formed around a metal wire armature — essentially a wire skeleton — which was then built up with ceramic material. This production method allowed for highly naturalistic, dynamic poses that solid-cast figurines could not achieve. The results were remarkable: a Pointer frozen mid-stance, a German Shepherd alert and watchful, a Cocker Spaniel with ears in motion.

The wire armature that gave Mortens Studio pieces their lifelike quality also created their most famous characteristic: over decades, as the metal wire expands and contracts with temperature changes, it causes the ceramic surface to develop a fine network of cracks called crazing. This is not a defect in the traditional sense — it is a natural consequence of the construction method, and virtually all genuine Mortens Studio figurines will show some degree of crazing.