Sometimes it's ok to be a little sheepish. Especially when it comes to delightful Steiff button-in-ear mysteries like this one! Check out this fabulous and fuzzy farm friend who just might be larger than life. What do you think? Danna shares,
"Could you offer any assistance in figuring out the mystery of the sheep? His coat is darker and the feet are different than the two I found on the web, his eyes also have different centers and there is no yellow tag in the front. I think it's older. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!"
This member of the flock truly rocks! What we have here is a great example of one of Steiff's rarer studio, or life-sized sheep. He is standing on all fours, unjointed, and made from now faded brown tipped wool plush. His legs and ears are made from white wool plush. His inset muzzle is detailed with oversized green and black slit pupil eyes, a simple mouth and nose, and airbrushed highlights. He is solidly stuffed with excelsior and most likely has a metal skeleton inside to support his size and weight. He left the factory wearing a Steiff chest tag, but this has been lost to time. These brown tipped sheep were made in 80 and 90 cm from 1966-1967 only. The 80 cm version is also standing but his head his bowed to the ground as if he is nibbling on the grass.
It is interesting to note that Steiff also created a 95 cm standing display ram produced in the same brown tipped wool plush as Danna's life-sized sheep.
Now let's shepherd this sheep discussion to his IDs. Danna's sheep has a product number of 1590,90 which is the 90 cm version made in 1966. Those made in 1967 have a product number of 3459/09. His numbers correspond as... 1= standing, 5= wool plush, 90= 90 cm, 9= display animal or special edition, and 0= normal (in reference to coloring.) Here on the left you can see these tipped sheep as they appeared in Steiff's 1967 studio line catalog.
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Danna's sheep has put ewe in a great mood today.
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