Pair of French Bisque Porcelain Hand Painted Figural Sculptures, Circa 1900

A magnificent pair of very large Meissen putti representing Day & Night by Heinrich Schwabe. Each figure wrapped in a cloth, float above the earth's atmo...

This enchanting museum quality Carrara marble group is the work of Edward Russell Thaxter (born Yarmouth, ME 1857-died Naples, Italy 1881). The sculpture depicts a young girl sternly scolds her cat, who has just attacked a bird's nest. She clutches the cat to her chest and looks at it disapprovingly, while waving her hand in discipline. Meanwhile, a dead bird lies at her feet and feathers hang limply from the cat’s mouth. This scene is a prelude to the responsibilities of motherhood: the young girl who is now reprimanding her cat will have to ensure that her own children are well behaved in the future. The sculpture rests on a dark green serpentine marble pedestal. Although Edward Thaxter's life was short, he excelled in creating detailed neoclassical sculpture. Signed: E. R. Thaxter Titled: Reproof Circa 1878-1880 Measures: Height with pedestal 76" (193 cm) Height of sculpture 40" (101 cm) Another example of this marble figure is in the Smithsonian National Museum in Washington DC. Artist biography: Edward Russell Thaxter was only twenty-four years old when he died, but in his brief career as a sculptor he garnered praise for his work and was deemed an artist with a promising future. Born in Yarmouth, Maine, he is believed to have chosen to study sculpture after seeing the work of John Rogers. At the age of sixteen, Thaxter moved to Boston and studied with the portrait sculptor John D. Perry. In 1878 Thaxter left for Florence, Italy, where he took a studio and began to create the neoclassical works that won him critical attention. In 1881 he contracted typhoid fever, which left him in a weakened condition, and within the year the young sculptor died in Naples. Thaxter's untimely death was noted with genuine regret in the American press. The critic James Jackson...

This beautiful pair of majolica figurines would elevate any living room, kitchen, or entry way. Created in Italy circa 1950 and done in the Capodimonte style, the large barbotine statues depict a couple of young adults in traditional Italian clothing. The peasant girl is shown wearing a green dress, blue shawl, pink apron and red hair covering, and carries a traveling sack and a basket of fruit. The young man, also dressed humbly in brown trousers and a green vest...

This is a wonderful pair of hand painted porcelain figures in the Dresden style, dating from the last quarter of the 20th century. This delightful pair features a woman and a man standing tall in grace, adorned in classical garb and holding a basket of lovely flowers at their hands. They are depicted with absolutely fantastic attention to detail. These figures are a perfect addition to your existing collection or a good set to start your own porcelain collection. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation of condition. Dimensions in cm: Height 37 x Width 19 x Depth 15 Dimensions in inches: Height 1 foot, 3 inches x Width 7 inches x Depth 6 inches Dresden Porcelain - A King's Obsession In the early 1700s, King Augustus II, prince elector of Saxony, held goldsmith Johann Bottger prisoner and commissioned him to create gold. Bottger instead discovered the method of creating porcelain, a favored and valuable item in the king's eyes. The king announced to Europe in 1710 that he would open a porcelain manufactory in Dresden. He instead opened one at nearby Albrechtsburg castle. Espionage was rampant, and the king guarded his porcelain secret, even though it meant imprisoning workers within the castle walls. By 1720, the secret was leaked and porcelain producers popped up in Vienna and Venice. Dresden Porcelain adopted Saxon crossed swords in under-glaze blue as its distinguishing mark. In 1736, the porcelain manufactory produced the "Swan Service...