Collecting Dragons

With the kids now having broken up for the summer holidays and parents tearing their hair out trying to decide how to keep them occupied, my thoughts have turned to the recently launched Taunton Deane Dragon trail.

There have been sightings all around town of these brightly coloured dragons these last few weeks, although they are so attractive that I've been rather dismayed at the 'keep off signs'; as an adult I can barely resist climbing aboard, so goodness knows how one might control a toddler!

Dragons have been part of our mythology for hundreds of years, inspiring both fear and hatred on the one hand, and considered divine guardians on the other. They are popular as collectables but I soon discovered, to my regret, that the breadth of those that are available is enormous.

Certain brands are considered more collectable than others so to kick start you off here are some of the fashionable brands you might look for;-

Enchantica began with with Holland Studio Craft (HSC), in 1987 and was taken over by Royal Doulton from 1996, until sold again in 2005 to Xystos. In addition to producing figurines they also sell books and many of the figures are modelled after characters in the stories. Enchantica dragons are considered to be top quality for collectors. Special pieces might include:-

• Paint trials: test pieces where colours are tried out before production
• Artist proofs (A/P): pieces painted for shows, where few were released for sale.
• Pattern pieces: painted by the senior artist and used by other artists as a reference for the production pieces (each piece is hand painted).

These pieces are not considered part of a production run, so they will not be numbered or have a certificate, but as always be cautious and check provenance and authenticity.
If a piece was re-painted by a professional painter such as Tina Sherratt and Caroline Briggs, it will generally be worth more.

Dragonsite is a new high-quality label, and Andrew Bill who helped to launch Enchantica and was one of their primary sculptors, now works for them. Included under the Dragonsite label are the Verbum Magnus, Hap Henriksen Resurrection and Nene Thomas fairies ranges.Danbury Mint makes three different sets of dragons, including 6 large Treasure dragons and the four elemental dragons (earth, air, water and fire), and 12 small fabulous dragons All sculpted by John Woodward who was himself an Enchantica sculptor. He is now retired, so his work is increasingly sought after.

Franklin Mint is based in the USA, and produce a wide range of collectables. Their dragon range is sculpted by famous fantasy artist Michael Whelan. His work is numbered and certificated, Fanklin Mint also produce a new range of bronze dragons, which tend to be more expensive, based on works by Julie Bell and Boris Valejo.

Where pricing is concerned, the bigger the piece the more expensive it is, and if the piece you are buying needs to be shipped or posted do take out insurance as breakages are common.