The Acquisatory

Then Perry's company, Antiquark, contracted with the American Harmony Ball Company for boxes to hold the company's chiming Harmony Balls, which soon expanded into the Harmony Ball Company selling just the boxes to hold jewelry and other small treasures. In 1995, Harmony Kingdom was born.

They were deliberately designed to be a limited collectible, complete with introductory dates, retirement dates, specialty editions, different versions within the same edition, mold or paint variations, and surprise pieces such as the one-of-a-kind jeweled versions that show up in the ordinary wrapping of certain very special collections.

Each also contains "The Secrets Of The Kingdom": an ongoing series of storylines and artistic in-jokes that are explained on the company's website at http://www.harmonykingdom.com. For example, pieces by Peter Calvesbert always have a mouse on them somewhere, and pieces by David Lawrence always include an acorn. Under the supervision of Artistic Director Martin Perry, the whimsical and sometimes amazingly realistic animals of the Treasure Jest series, the beautiful blooms of Harmony Garden, and the entire Harmony Kingdom line all display the craftsmanlike attention to detail and quirky sense of humor for which Harmony Kingdom's artists are known.

Each prototype is hand carved, then a mold is made. The Box Figurines are poured from a special blend of crushed marble and resin that resembles ceramic, then individually painted by hand. Most of this production takes place in Wimberley Mills, in the scenic Cotswolds area of Western England, with all of the work done by local craftspeople as a traditional cottage industry. However, in recent years, some has been outsourced to China.

There are 26 collections listed altogether on the company website as well as 2 more collections produced by the Harmony Ball Company that are available on eBay as subcategories of the Harmony Kingdom category. We discussed half of those collections in Part 1 of this guide and will discuss the other half here.

Produced in China, Lord Byron's Harmony Garden was created by Monique Baldwin and tells the ongoing story of Lord Byron the Ladybug and his floral adventures in search of a ladybug love. Each Box Figurine is a flower on the outside and contains interior carving that advances the storyline.

Nature/Nurture expresses the profound emotional ties between parent and child. The touchstone theme of each Nature/Nurture Treasure Jest Box Figurine is a quality that all parents endeavor to pass on to their little ones, such as Love, Peace, Honesty, and Joy. These 12 pieces were created by Martin Perry Studios in 2003 and 2004 and produced in a Fixed Edition of 2500. They are not retired, but they are hard to find.

The 12 NetsUKe are a subset of the Treasure Jest animals that were carved by Peter Calvesbert in 1999 and 2000 and produced in editions of well under 10,000 each. Some, but not all, have been retired, one as recently as October 1, 2008. They are not Box Figurines, just animals.

One of the Harmony Kingdom subcategories that can be found on eBay, Picturesque is a collection of marble resin tile figurines. Like Harmony Kingdom Box Figurines, every tile is exquisitely detailed and reveals the wit and irony for which Harmony Kingdom has become known. Hidden secrets are encrypted into each stand-alone tile; and when viewed together, an endlessly engaging story unfolds. There are three group and seven solo stories altogether, most of which were carved by Ann Richmond and made in China.

Made by the Harmony Ball Company and technically not part of Harmony Kingdom but available on eBay under the Harmony Kingdom category, Pot Bellys come in three subsets -- Historical Pot Bellys, Animal Pot Bellys, and People Pot Bellys. Standing approximately two inches tall, each has a hidden compartment suitable for concealing tiny treasures. Historical Pot Bellys include Alexander Graham Bell, Agatha Christie, Barrack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, Andy Warhol, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, and many more. People Pot Bellys include a nurse and lawyer, and all of them are retired. Some of the Animal Pot Bellys -- are retired as well, including the Calendar Cats and Dog Days collections.

Another Harmony Kingdom subcategory that can be found on eBay, Roly Polys are rotund characters carved by Adam Binder and inspired by famous folks known for their larger-than-life style. Box Figurines in this series include Mae West as a dolphin and Winston Churchill as a bulldog along with Queen Victoria; W.C. Fields; Benny Hill; Dom DeLuise; Pavarotti; Dizzie Gillespie; Marlon Brando; Jackie Gleason; Curly from The 3 Stooges; Alfred Hitchcock; Louis Armstrong; Zero Mostel; Orson Wells; Liz Taylor; Elvis Presley; Mama Cass; Bela Lugosi; Botero; Lou Costello; Fats Domino; Oliver Hardy; the drag queen Divine -- even Fergie (the Duchess of York, not the Black-Eyed Peas vocalist), Rush Limbaugh, Rosie O'Donnell, Roseanne Barr, Ozzie Osbourne, and Monica Lewinsky (appropriately rendered as a blowfish -- LOL). Hard Body (i.e., solid and non-opening) versions of some of the Roly Poly Box Figurines also were produced, but in much smaller numbers -- only several hundred per edition of several thousand Box Figurines.

For Halloween, there are specialty Roly Polys: Fang the bat; Frankie (Frankenstein); Bones the skeleton; Boris (Karloff) the mummy; and Hilda the witch along with miniature Roly Poly Hard Bodies Lon (Chaney) the ghost and Jabba (the Hut) the eye in a Fixed Edition of 2000 and 500 respectively. Bela (Lugosi, depicted as a vampire, of course) also is appropriate for this holiday.

For Christmas, there are Nick (as in Saint Nicholas) and Rudy (the reindeer). They were produced in U.S., U.K., and Canadian versions, each wearing the proper flag on the back of the jacket. In the U.S. version, there were 7000 boxes with standard paint, 700 boxes with vivid paint, and 700 Hard Bodies. In the U.K. version, there were 1500 boxes with standard paint, 100 boxes with vivid paint, and 50 Hard Bodies. In the Canadian version, there were 500 boxes with standard paint, 50 boxes with vivid paint, and 25 Hard Bodies. This is typical of what makes Harmony Kingdom limited collectibles so special.

Also produced especially for Christmas, Peter Calvesbert has created a Santa Claus every year since 1995. Each piece is a Timed Edition and retired after its holiday season. These usually sell out well in advance of the actual holiday. Other holiday and special occasion pieces can be sought out on eBay or at www.harmonykingdom.com in the Custom Piece Search for everything from anniversaries, Bon Voyage, Christmas, and Easter to Father's Day, Graduation Day, Halloween, Mother's Day, and New Baby to Valentine's Day and Weddings.

Romance Annuals were carved by various artists and produced in the early 2000s. They depict pairs of Treasure Jest animals in love.

Royal Watch Collector's Club pieces were produced for and exclusively available only to members of the Royal Watch Collector's Club, Harmony Kingdom's official collectors organization.

Sidelines represents a collection of various collaborative projects and non-Box-Figurine products, including two teapots (Crackin' Brew and Y2HK4K) made with Cardew Design Studios; a Harmony Circus serigraph; Harmony Kingdom Reference Guides and a video; a Paint-Your-Own Kit; HK displays; pewter pens; and silver Treasure Jests that unscrew to reveal a miniature compartment. The Sidelines Collection also includes the Wee Beasties, tiny endangered animals less than two inches square and available only as a subset of the Zookeepers collection. Harmony Kingdom also has partnered with Longaberger to produce at least eight Box Figurines featuring the company's famous handmade baskets.

The Signature Series is a subset of five Treasure Jest Box Figurines created by and named for various HK artists between 2003-2004. They were produced in Limited Editions of 2400 except for Perryalism by Martin Perry, which was produced in a Limited Edition of 600.

The Tapestry Collection is a group of six Treasure Jest animals created in 2004 by David Winter and named for the various fabrics that inspired their opulent and ornamental style: Chiffon the rabbit; Damask the mouse; Gabardine the pig; Sateen the cat; Saxony the frog; and Tweed the duck. Rich texture, subtle coloration, and intricate patterning combine to create a visual and tactile delight. Each piece, when opened, reveals a simple carved heart, and these creatures’ eyes glitter and glimmer with the richness that comes only from genuine black Swarovski crystals. Every Tapestry piece is a numbered Limited Edition of 1500 worldwide.

Timed Editions are Treasure Jests made for certain seasons, including the Holiday and Millenium subsets and Romance Annuals.

Treasure Jest is the default term for Harmony Kingdom's witty, whimsical Box Figurines.

Two By Two is a unique collection of paired animal figurines created by Adam Binder and named for famous couples: Anthony & Cleopatra the rabbits; Barney & Betty (Rubble, from The Flintstones) the pigs; Bonnie & Clyde the geckos; Franklin & Eleanor (Roosevelt) the owls; Marie & Pierre the cats; Ranier & Grace the dolphins; and Samson & Delilah the lion and lamb. Each may stand alone or complement its partner perfectly. They were made in worldwide editions of 2000-3000 and retired in 2002.

Zookeepers are Limited Edition Treasure Jests that represent zoo animals, including a Family Reunion of monkeys, Gentle Giant pandas, Ivory Tower owls, polar bears that Play Ball, and greyhound Retired Racers. Zookeepers also involved adoptive collaborations benefiting rescue and rehabilitation organizations and habitat improvements in zoos and wildlife refuges.

Carved Hallmarks: The carved hallmarks are usually located on the exterior of Harmony Kingdom Box Figurines, although sometimes they are on the lid of the Box Figurines. These include year of creation hallmarks, artist hallmarks, and edition numbers. Hallmarks do not follow any set sequence in their appearance on each figurine. The copyright symbol © has appeared on all Harmony Kingdom pieces since 1994, and the Harmony Ball Company treble clef has appeared as a hallmark since 1997.

Another hallmark is the clock face, used to indicate the month carving was completed. The clock may have hands or dots to indicate the month. This hallmark was used from 1995 to 1997.



Year of Creation Hallmarks: The year of creation hallmark indicates the year the carving of the piece was completed.

1995: Apple/Bomb. The bomb pays tribute to the Oklahoma City tragedy

1996: Diamond/Coffin. Commemorates Martin and Corinna Perry’s tour of a morgue on New Year’s Day, 1996.

1997: Heart. The heart shows the excitement over the introduction of Lord Byron’s Harmony Garden and Lord Byron’s search for love.

1998: Star. Stars appeared on Sneak Preview, the first Box Figurine produced in 1998.

1999: Half Moon. The half moon represents the eve of the millennium.

2000: Double diamond/MM. Two capital letter “M"s in mirror image indicate the year 2000. M is the Roman numeral for 1000.

 2001: Smiley Face. We made it to the new millennium! Also references the smiley faces, or “emoticons”, used to show emotion on the World Wide Web.

2002: Peace Sign. This symbol indicates hopefulness for world peace.

2003: Yin-Yang Symbol. A well-known symbol from the East.



Artist Hallmarks: Each artist uses a special hallmark to sign their work.

Peter Calvesbert: P and C intertwined. This hallmark looks like a snake curled around a staff. Peter Calvesbert began using this hallmark in 1995.

 Peter Calvesbert: PC in circle. In December 1995 Peter Calvesbert began using this hallmark.

Monique Baldwin: Eye. This unique hallmark belongs to Monique Baldwin, artist for Harmony Garden.

Adam Binder: Gecko. Adam Binder created this hallmark after observing a gecko in his yard.

 Mark Ricketts: R. Mark Ricketts carves his "R” in various places on his works.

 Sherman Drackett: S in circle.

David Lawrence: DL in circle.

Martin Perry Studios: M in circle.
Ann Richmond: AR. Ann Richmond’s “R” appears under her larger “A”.



Version Numbers and Infinity: From 1997 to 1999, special hallmarks indicated the version of the piece. In 1999, these edition hallmarks were replaced with an infinity symbol after the first 5000 boxes. The first 5000 pieces produced retain the “1” hallmark. Some Limited Editions may only have edition number “1.”

For pieces produced from January 1997 through January 1999: 1 - first 3000 boxes; 2 - second 3000 boxes.

For pieces produced from January 1999 through 2001: 1 - first 5000 boxes; infinity symbol (∞) - all pieces after the first 5000.

Crown Stamp: Harmony Kingdom’s crown stamp appears on all pieces from mid-1995 to the present. The crown itself remains consistent, but the small icon at the top of the crown changes from year to year. Thus, the crown stamp indicates the year of production. This is sometimes different from the year of creation, as artists may finish carving their work in one year but the piece may not actually be produced until the following year or even later. The crown stamp may be found on the base of the box or on the bottom of the lid. If your Box Figurine has no crown stamp, it probably was produced sometime before July 1995.

Year of Production Crown Stamps

1995 and 1996: Crown stamp with treble clef

1997: Crown stamp with heart

1998: Crown stamp with five-pointed star

1999: Crown stamp with half moon

2000: Crown stamp with double diamond/double M

2001: Crown stamp with smiley face

 2002: Crown stamp with peace sign

2003: Crown stamp with yin/yang symbol

EBay is a great secondary market for retired and/or otherwise unavailable HK pieces, but it's also a good place to find rare brand-new items, still in their original boxes with all documentation. Others have been carefully displayed, but all are suitable to be treasured by their lucky new owners. Look for auctions that depict the actual pieces being sold, not just stock photos from the Harmony Kingdom website.

As previously stated, Harmony Kingdom pieces are available in several Harmony Kingdom subcategories: Garden Party, Jardinia, Picturesque, Pot Bellys, Roly Polys, and Other. There usually are a couple of thousand HK pieces available on eBay on any given day.

You also can search for pieces by name, production number (although not many sellers list them that way), or by keywords such as the type of animal you're looking for or the type of figure along with "Harmony Kingdom". In fact, searching just by "Harmony Kingdom" (with or without quotes) is a great way to pull up miscategorized items that won't show up in a search of any of the Harmony Kingdom categories. Miscategorized items can be great bargains since less buyers tend to find them.

You might also do well to search by keywords Harmony Circus or Harmony Garden. Searching Jardinia (Garden Party, Picturesque, Pot Belly, or Roly Poly without the words "Harmony Kingdom" or at least "Harmony" will pull up too many non-HK items.

Check our auctions for a good selection of rare and retired Harmony Kingdom collectibles, most of them brand new in the original box along with all documentation and all of them kept in a non-smoking environment.