Tintin Forums

Hi!

I have a large Tintin statue, from Cigars of the Pharaoh by St.Emett; it's 28 cm tall, and weighs 1.3 kilos.

Tintin is holding a pistol in his right hand and the hand is removable - at the end of the hand you can see sane skin color as Tintin face on both arms.

I have carefully removed the clothes to see if there was a serial number and a stamp saying St.Emett, but there is nothing.

My question is, is this an original limited edition Prototype from 1988?

It's very hard to find information online about this Tintin statue.

Welcome to the forums, Shadowfax!

Is it the statue of Tintin in the purple Kih-Osk robes, standing on a base formed from the symbol of the gang?

I can find references to it, but no real details, and nothing which shows if and how it should be marked. Curiously none of the other St. Emett pieces I've seen photos of show markings, which suggests that they are either unmarked, or the marks are under the base. Perhaps you have seen other figures, and could confirm if they are usually marked anywhere?

However, I have also read that figures such as these are being copied, and as yet I haven't seen anyone say how copies are to be identified, other than that the quality may not be as good (so without a verified figurine to do a comparison with, that'd be difficult.

So I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that yours is a prototype - it may be the usual production model, or (worst case scenario I know) even a pirate copy. Perhaps you could say how you came by it, and if there was anything else with it - a box, or certificate, perhaps?

I don't know where you are, so it's a bit hard to give any other advice, but should you be in Belgium or France you might be able to take it to a dealer or auction house who would know how to have it authenticated (you might even find that kind of service at an auctioneers in one of the larger European cities).

Good luck with the research, and if I come across anything, I will try and post it here!

Thanks for the info.

I'm not near France or Belgium, further North in Denmark.

Well I bought it from a private seller and no certificate or box came with it, I thought it looked nice, so I bought it.

When I search the internet only one or two similar statues comes up, they call it St. Emett, and as you say, St. Emett doesn't number their items as I understand?

Maybe it could be a local artist that have made a few statues like mine and if so, I will consider it as a very rare statue if only a few are made? I have used some hours on the Chatgpt and a lot of answers but nothing I can confirm.

It annoys me that I can not find the manufacturer hmm. Tintin face seems to very well hand painted and also the legs and shoes are hand painted. Some say the right arm is broken, as you see on the pictures. Should I use a bit superglue to repair it?

I have written to Heritage auctions and the came back with an answer, a counterfit, not original. Well maybe I should wait a couple of years and maybe I will find out who made it.

I don't see it possible to upload a few pictures of the statue here, so if anyone is interested to see pictures of it maybe we can find a solution to that.

Additional info. Just talked to the former owner, he has bought it from a Dutch private collector and the statue should be a Niche production from a small firm only few were made. They also said it was from early 2000 and made under) for St.Emett. but I can not confirm that.

That I don't know - any of the ones I have seen really only show one or two views of the figures, and none as yet has shown underneath: it could be that there is manufacturer information, a copyright notice or serial numberwritten there, but I just haven't seen it.


Hmm... that's a way of looking at it, I suppose, but only in the same sense that if you had made the copy yourself, it would be "unique", but it doesn't really add anything to its worth or value... Bear in mind that counterfeiters rarely advertise their wares as copies, because in most cases somoene - the makers of the genuine statues, their lawyers and police - will probably want to have a word with them about what they are doing, and want them to stop.


To be honest, that is probably the best answer you are going to get - they'll have experience in judging such things; they aren't infallible, especially if they haven't actually handled the item, but it's a strong indication of the likely authenticity of the statue.


I'm not sure I follow this - if St. Emett got another business to make statues on their behalf, then that's one thing, and the statue would be judged as authentic, if (and only if) St. Emett were responsible for marketing and selling that item, or had authorized the manufacturer to sell them.

It might be therefore that the one you have has been sold as what in English is called a "second" - an item that has not met the quality of the standard that the client wanted, but which has enough quality that there would be a market for it, if you don't mind the flaw. It won't have been given the box or certificate that big collectors might want, and might also have been marked in some other way. We had dinner plates at home that were "seconds", and the bottom of each had a splash of colour on it, which prevented them from being sold as "first" quality (but as you don't eat off the bottom of the plate, it didn't matter to us).

If however, say St. Emett ordred 200 statues, and the company making them made 220 statues, and then sold the extra 20 without St. Emett knowing, that could be seen as a fraud.

Thanks again for the answer. I dont think that I ever will find out who made the statue.someone wrote to me It could be a 3D made statue hmmm, how do they do that and why is there metal at the end of the Wrist,so it can go in, as I wrote the right hand with the pistol is removable? Well I think I will put it in a tall glas bowl, and he will stand there while iam seeking more answers.