A Rare Bitossi Rimini Blue Baby Elephant Figurine and 11 Other Ceramic, Pottery, Metal & Stone Elephant Figurines previously owned by Frank Sinatra.

True story.  Frank Sinatra was insulted when Bobby Kennedy, Attorney General for brother, JFK's administration, refused to all JFK to land at Sinatra's newly built helipad (built in anticipation of the Presidential visit) and stay with him at his Palm Desert estate.  So insulted that he changed his politcal party registration from Democrat to Republican.   His Republican friends started to send Frank little elephants in some form or another, in jest,to celebrate his party switch!

Some of those gifts are part of this collection of ceramic, metal, stone, pottery & rock elephant figurines, including a highly collectable Bitossi Rimini Blue baby elepant figurine, that belonged to Frank Sinatra. 

The collection consists of twelve (12) elephants in various styles, materials, elements, shapes & sizes.  This collection was housed at Villa Maggio, Sinatra’s mountain estate home in Pinyon Crest high above Palm Desert, and all were his personal possessions.  

Largest Elephant in the collection is the white ceramic elephant sitting on his behind.  This elephant measures 9” tall x 6” wide & has a very small nick on the tip of the elephant’s trunk. No makers mark appears on this item.  The metal elephant is a vintage bank, and approx.5” wide & 4” tall.

This blue ceramic elephant does not have a markers mark on it however it appears to be vintage as well size is 7” long x 5” tall.  Seems to have been filled with sand for weight, as there is an old cork stopper in the bottom.

The circus elephant in white with one leg raised is made of ceramic & is appx 8” tall x 4” wide. It is not marked but can be assumed to be a vintage piece.

The smallest elephants in the collection are the 3 different colored glass blown little elephants, Sinatra’s favorite color was orange, 2 of the elephants have orange glass.  These are small 2” tall each, no makers mark appears on these items. 

Three additional elephants in this collection are an orange ceramic elephant, a white ceramic elephant with his trunk raised and a stone carved elephant all appear to be vintage all 3 are in perfect condition. Size from 2” to 4” in height.

Two of the elephants are seemingly rare items, with the first being the vintage Bitossi Rimini Blue Ceramic elephant by Bitossi Ceramics of Italy.  6” long x 3” tall in beautiful shades of their classic blue glaze. The baby elephant’s trunk is lifted high – a trait that other Bitossi elephants seem not to depict, rather their trunks are attached to the main body of the figurine.  The raised trunk on this one made it vulnerable to breaking, which may be why others haven’t been found during online searches.  The trunk has a small chip underneath the trunk, thankfully not noticeable when displaying. 

The other is the Niloak Ceramic Vintage Elephant Vase/Plant Holder, which is 5.5 “tall x 6” wide.   The Niloak Pottery began making arts and crafts ceramics in 1910 as the Eagle Pottery Company. Niloak also produced cast ware from molds, mostly planters and vases until they went bankrupt in 1947. As the premiere manufacturer of art pottery in Arkansas, vintage Niloak Pottery is highly collectible.

• Name : Melinda Ritz