Miniature Vintage French Chef Figurine

A charming miniature vintage French chef figurine from Patricia Wells's collection of culinary antiques.

The figurine depicts a chef in full whites: tall toque, double-breasted jacket, apron and dark trousers, standing upright on a small round base with one arm extended to present a garnished dish. The painting is detailed and precise — the buttons on the jacket individually rendered, the face composed and almost formal, the garnish reading as vivid reds and greens against the pale cream of the uniform.

This little chef would sit happily on a kitchen shelf, a cookbook ledge, or grouped with other culinary curiosities. It suits any cook's home — a reminder that the kitchen has always had its own cast of characters, and that the people who have devoted their lives to it, as Patricia and Walter have, tend to surround themselves with objects that reflect that devotion, even in the smallest and most playful ways.