The Lighter
Modeled after the Manneken Pis fountain statue of a boy urinating, located in Brussels, Belgium. This lighter is finished in a bronze enamel. Made in France circa 1920s, The back is marked "Bte S.G.D.G." which in French stands for "Brevete sans garantie du gouvernement" (Patented without government guarantee).
The Pisser
Manneken Pis (1619) is Dutch for “Little Pissing Man” and is a bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain's basin.
He is a prominent symbol of Brussels and Belgium in general. Manneken Pis is widely used to represent both the city and country, as well as its people. His image is heavily used in advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification.
It is unclear how the statue came about, but there are numerous legends, and they range from a rich merchant donating the statue when his son was found (urinating) after being lost, to a story about a little boy who urinated out the fuse of a bomb that was going to blow up the city.
Better documented is the several dangers the statue faced over the years. From the bombardment of Brussels in 1695, to the numerous thefts. It is estimated that the statue has been abducted a total of seven times with one of the worst episodes in 1817 when a man on the run named Antoine Lucas stole the statue and ended up breaking it into 11 pieces during the heist. It was recouped and repaired, and the perpetrator was punished with an hour of "humiliation" on the stocks before being forced to labor for life.
Personal Thoughts
I love this little micturat man and am amused that this famously naked sculpture has a wardrobe of over a thousand different costumes. He is dressed in costumes several times each week, with an elaborate ceremony, often accompanied by a brass band. I love the pomp and circumstances as well as the extensive wardrobe containing everything from Dracula to Mickey Mouse.