Clowning Around

Figural powder dishes featuring a Pierrot hoisting a lovely lass onto his back or shoulders while she displays a length of lithe leg were a popular theme in the 1920s, as demonstrated by examples that have previously appeared on this blog. The Pierrot served as the base for the shallow powder dish or bowl, while a half doll sat in the dish on a swansdown puff, which doubled as her feather tutu. This example is a bit naughtier, as Columbine, or at least a belle dressed for a carnival ball, suggestively straddles Pierrot's shoulders, a shapely leg dangling on each side of his face. 

The dish alone is about 4 inches tall, while the full assembly is around 7 inches. Underneath the base is incised with the crowned "S" of the Sitzendorf Porcelain Factory and "26021." The half doll is unmarked. The pretty miss has lost her original swansdown puff, but I created a display stand that replicates the look of the missing fluffy puff.

In the Black

This blog has featured a number of bronze bathing beauties and naughty novelties from Austria, specifically Vienna, which, beginning in the mid-19th century, became the center for foundries producing finely crafted artistic bronzes to adorn the homes of those wishing to subtly display their taste and wealth. In 1898, Carl Hagenauer opened one such foundry that would later become Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien. His son, Karl, joined the business in 1919 as a designer, influenced by the Vienna Secession, the country's version of the art nouveau movement. His stylized and streamlined designs in bronze and brass were extremely popular, shaping public taste. Just after WWII, Karl introduced a new line of miniature brass pieces that had been oxidized to deep black, then strategically polished so that selected golden highlights shown through. These sleek statuettes with their striking contracts of black and gold were a perfect fit for the mid-century modern design movement, characterized by an emphasis on simplicity and clean, uncluttered silhouettes. The oxidation technique was quickly adopted by other Austrian artists, such as Robert Rohac and Walter Bosse, and soon was copied by manufacturers worldwide. These blackened brass pieces were made in a wide variety of subjects, from whimsical animals to exotic images, such as highly stylized African figures. This lithe lady admiring herself in a mirror is just two inches high and is unmarked.