Helen Scavini

Antique Lenci Ceramic Madonna of the Snows by Elena Scavini. Italy Torino, circa 1930

Helen König Scavini, Lenci manufactory "Nude of Woman", e.g. 1927-1936 Signed under the base "Lenci/Italy" Glazed terracotta sizes: H 70 cm x W front 83 cm (W back 55 cm) x D 55 cm The important sculpture, realized in glazed terracotta, is by the famous Lenci Manufactory of Turin (Italy) on model by Helen König Scavini. Of remarkable dimensions, it represents a naked woman, covered of a single cloth to life, sitting with the legs flexed asymmetrically while it supports on the arms with the hands leaned to the plan. The woman has a hieratic expression, big eyebrow arches under which the ethereal eyes are half-closed; the open lips hide a hint of a smile. The loose hair is turned back with big waves on both the head and along the back. The staining of the glazing is on the tones of musky green, which contributes to confer to this woman the appearance of a nymph or a mythological figure. Below the base is found, hand painted, the trademark of the manufacture "Lenci, ITALY". The brand Lenci was registered in Turin on 23 April 1919, sanctioning an activity undertaken some time before by Helen König, wife of the commercial agent Enrico Scavini. The origin of the word Lenci is still controversial today; the earliest bibliography says it derived from a endearment of Elena (Elenchen, as her father called her and that she, stunned him, pronounced Lenci) while the most recent one considers the acrostic Ludus Est Nobis Costanter Industria, perhaps invented by Ugo Ojetti or built as divertissement by the poet Ignazio Vacchetti (Alias Fantasio) on the endearment of Elena. The Lenci manufactory becomes a meeting point for artists and a forge of ideas for the development and realization of dolls and puppets, children’s furniture, and later also artistic ceramics. The first artists to take an active part in the enterprise were Giovanni Riva and Sandro Vacchetti, soon joined by other great names. The success of these felt dolls earned numerous awards to the Lenci Company during the international exhibitions in Zurich, Paris, Rome or Milan. However, the originality of Lenci’s creations was soon put to the test by numerous imitations. To cope with this type of competition, Lenci began to produce artistic ceramics, whose activity began in 1927. The ceramic figures became perhaps even more famous than the dolls in cloth. The subjects ranged from the famous "nudini", the chic little ladies and emancipated women, from fantasy characters to animals, from religious images to the most disparate vases and much more. Many artists collaborated in the realization of the models, among which it is worth mentioning the already mentioned Sandro Vacchetti, artistic director of Lenci from 1922-1934, the same Elena König Scavini, Cläre Burchart, Lino berzoini, Giovanni Riva, Giovanni Ronzan, Deabate Theonesto, Giovanni Pietro Spertini, Marcello Dudovich, Gigi Chessa, Mario Pompei, Nillo Beltrami, Mario Sturani, Giulio Da Milano, Giovanni Grande, Ines Grande, Claudia Formica, Luigi Borione, Camillo Ghigo, Giuseppe Porcheddu, Gino Levi-Montalcini, Abele Jacopi...