Rare 1985 Manganese Glazed Redware Santa Belsnickel Figurine Lester Breininger

Description: A very nice and very unusual manganese glazed redware small figurine made by Lester Breininger. The piece, which is dated 1985, represents a standing father Christmas, Santa Clause or as Terri says a Belsnickel (The German Santa or the Pennsylvania Dutch Santa who is tough on Children and makes them be good). The figurine shows Santa wearing a long coat, tied with a rope around his waist. The coat has a pointed hood, which covers the Belsnickel's head. He is also wearing mitten, boots and has a long beard. The coloring of the piece is rather different and very interesting as it is grayish brown with brown and black highlights. The black highlights are indicative of manganese glazing. The piece is glazed throughout except for the base which is marked with the date and LB for Lester Breininger, suggesting that the piece was made by the master potter himself. The piece shows good details of Santa's coat, face and beard. The base of the figurine is unglazed and shows the color