A Russian Imperial Porcelain Manufactory Figure: Peasant Woman Russian Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, Period of Alexander II (1855-1881), after the model by August Karl Spiess, circa 1860 10-1/2 x 4-3/4 x 4-3/4 inches (26.7 x 12.1 x 12.1 cm) PROVENANCE: Sotheby's, New York, Russian Art, December 15, 1999, lot 123; Ruth S. Nelkin notes that she acquired this lot for $4000. After the model by sculptor August Karl Spiess (German, 1817-1904). Born in Prussia, Spiess graduated from the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. In 1846, he was invited to St. Petersburg to assist in the reconstruction of the Winter Palace, after the fire of 1837 destroyed many of the interiors. By 1849, his work was so admired that he was asked to join the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory as a sculptor, and from 1853 he became a senior modeler, designing most of the important sculptural models over a five-decade career. Spiess' work was in particular demand by the Empress Maria Alexandrovna, born a princess of Hesse and by Rhine, who appreciated his subtle variations on the works of the Meissen factory. By Christmas of 1864, the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory had supplied more than 119 figures (little Russians, Romany peoples, bacchantes, and paired peasant couples) to the Empress. A later example from 1903, modeled after the Spiess original by lvan Zotov may be seen in the collection of the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Mz-I-1207), and a period example in bisque is in the collection of the Uglich State Museum of History Architecture and Art. Property from the Nelkin Collection HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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