A Pair of Very Rare Soviet Porcelain Figures: a Young Blacksmith and a Young Thresher, Lomonosov State Porcelain Factory, Leningrad, circa 1926

Estimate

12,000 - 18,000 USD

bidding is closed

Description

both after models by Maria Strakhovskaia (1888-1962); the blacksmith with impressed circular hammer and sickle factory mark; the thresher with impressed circular hammer and sickle factory mark with the details picked out in black overglaze, impressed Cyrillic initials A.L. for modeler Anatolii Lukin, and the Cyrillic signature and date "E. Yakimovskaia 1926" in black overglaze
Porcelain with enamel glazes
Height 5 3/4 in.; 6 1/4 in.
14.6 cm; 15.9 cm

the first depicting a young boy wearing blue shorts, a white printed shirt and brown boots straining to raise a heavy blacksmith's hammer over an anvil, a pile of horseshoes lays on the ground next to him; the second showing a similarly dressed young boy lifting a sheaf of wheat with difficulty, a scythe and drinking jar discarded at his feet

Condition

overall good condition; some very tiny minor chips to the edge of the base of the figure of the blacksmith
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

These very rare Soviet figures were among a group commissioned by the Lomonosov factory from Strakhovskaia in 1924 or 1926 and, prior to the present catalogue, the figure of the Young Thresher has apparently remained unpublished. Strakhovskaia's initial series of figures of members of the Pioneers youth group was followed by a pair of statuettes of children attempting to carry out difficult adult labors, a revival of an 18th-century ceramic tradition. The commission specified that the models should reflect a "Soviet tendency," a directive Strakhovskaia fulfilled by selecting the blacksmith and peasant, figures who often stood for the workers and the peasants in Soviet iconography. On these figures, see A.V. Lunacharskii, et al, Sovetskii farfor, Moscow, 1927, p. 17 and unpaginated image (reproduced at right) and E. Sametskaia, Sovetskii agitatsionnyi farfor, Moscow, 2004, p. 300. We are grateful to Nataliya Petrova of the Lomonosov Porcelain Museum for assistance in cataloging these lots.