Their cherubic faces are captivating but their childlike innocence belies the marketability of a product which has soared over the last two decades.

Hummel figures of boys and girls made by the German factory Goebel were first presented to the world at the Leipzig Trade Fair in 1935. Based on the drawings of religious figures and children by Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel, who was a graduate of Munich's Academy of Applied Arts, they became an instant hit and the factory's most famous product which is still being made today.

The figures of little Bavarian boys and girls show them in different poses: as a chef, looking after chicks, sitting on a stile, skiing or sitting in an apple tree for example. They are beautifully modelled and hand painted with a matt finish. They have the impressed facsimile of the Hummel signature on the base behind the figure and, if it is not lost, a paper label with such titles as 'Little Hiker' or 'For Father'.

American soldiers stationed in Bavaria in the Second World War gave them as gifts and that ensured their popularity in America. Now there is a museum, the Donald E Stephens Museum of Hummels in Rosemont, Illinois, where there is purported to be the largest public display of them in the world - around 1,000 figures and wood carvings.

Mr Stephens, who founded the village of Rosemont, was captivated by the figures after spotting them on a trip to Europe in the 1960s. He donated his collection to the museum in 1984.

The factory has also made wall plaques, plates, clocks, bird and animal figures in the line.

Antique dealer Gerald Barber, who runs Fleur de Lys Antiques in the village, has around 70 figures on sale in his shop ranging in price from £65 to £285.

The latter, dating from the 1940s, is a 9in figure of a little girl standing by a grandfather clock.

Rare or complex figures can go for up to around £600, he said.

Hummel children are always rosy and chubby cheeked and are often depicted in traditional German costume.

They appear to hark back to a romantic idyll which must have seemed appealing to Germans during and after the stark war years.

Mr Barber thinks their appeal is due to their cuteness and the excellent craftsmanship. "There are a lot of cheap copies about but they will never match the quality of the original."

He said they appealed mostly to women and the fact that they could fit neatly into a cabinet, not taking up too much space, added to their appeal.

He sells most of them for around £100 to £200. He said the earlier ones are generally more valuable. Because of their popularity they are still in production today. Sister Hummel died at the age of 37 of TB but her memory lives on in the figures she inspired.

The convent has final artistic control according to the licensing agreement with the Goebel factory and the royalties go to fund the convent's worldwide charities.