Very attractive with great detail and a full 5 inches tall, this china horse and rider figurine is marked Erphila Germany.

This appears to be a dressage rider or possibly someone heading out for a fox hunt. The horse is animated, with head tucked and ears turned back, its attention fully on its rider.

Condition is perfect, with NO cracks, chips, flakes or repairs. We found it amazing that both the rider's hand and horse's muzzle were molded with holes through which "reins" are threaded. The only thing we could find less than absolutely perfect was a tiny spot of stray brown color behind the rider's right knee.

On the underside of its belly, the horse is marked with a box, which states ERPHILA / GERMANY ; meaning it was imported from Germany by the Erphila Company for sale in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The "Erphila" name is a combination of the first initials ("E" and "R") of the Eberling & Reuss Company, to which the first part of their home city name ("Phila") was added. Owned by German immigrants Theodore Ebeling and Frederick Reuss, Eberling & Reuss emerged in 1900 from an earlier partnership. Primarily an importing company buying from European factories, their Erphila mark was applied to porcelain, earthenware, and ironstone wares they sold to retailers in the United States. Eberling & Reuss quickly became a major factor nationwide in porcelain figures and teapots. The company's import volume peaked in the late 1940's/50's. As customer interest began to dwindle, Erphila fell on hard times and finally went bankrupt in 1988, then was sold to the Strathmore Corporation of Pennsylvania in 2002.