A Russian Porcelain Figure: Columbine Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, Period of Nicholas I (1825-1855), circa 1840 5-3/8 x 3-1/8 x 2-1/2 inches (13.7 x 7.9 x 6.3 cm) PROVENANCE: Skinner, Inc., The Kantor Collection of Russian Porcelain Figurines, July 14, 2001, lot 768; John Atzbach Antiques, Bellevue, Washington; The Kathleen Durdin Collection of Russian Decorative Arts, Tampa, Florida. 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 Factory 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 tradition, this figure of a columbine was modelled after the empress herself. Property from the Kathleen Durdin Collection HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved