Also known as "The Seated Bather", this is a gorgeous, 19" Royal Dux porcelain figurine created by Paul Aichele in early 1900's Czechoslovakia. Modeled and naturalistically soft colored with gold touches on the base, as well as the ribbon holding back her lovely hair, she seems a bit sad that she has to dry herself off and head on home to do whatever it is a young lady like her did back in the day. I too am sad because I'm not exactly sure if this is an official / original Royal Dux or not, as it could possibly be a later reproduction. There are a few things about it that just do not match up with other examples I see online. For one, the pink triangle Royal Dux marking is completely missing from the underside, as well as some of the lovely Nouveau style detail on the base when compared to other online examples. Aside from that, she actually matches up perfectly in all other aspects of body, face, hair, rock structure, and drapery. She also apparently came in a variety of clothed versions as well (check Google if you're interested.) And for the final bit of associated oddness, you'll have to scroll all the way down to the very end of the post to see how she looked when I originally bought her at the estate sale. Someone badly painted a bright red bikini on her, --they even painted her lips and nails! It took most of the day, and the help of two other sweet chums o'mine to help get it all off with rubbing alcohol, but it was worth the trouble for sure. Thanks again to Brad, Russ, and Cindy for the awesome assists! (*All photos by Mr. Karswell.)
This is a real great item, copy or not.
ReplyDeletePorcelain figures are not my area of expertise, so I can't say if it is original or reproduction, all I can say is it is a beautiful object d'art.
All I could find on the subject is this website-
https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Royal-Dux:
One of the great things about AEET is it introduces us to things we would never give a second thought to, whether it is porcelain, advertising art, postcards, Halloween costumes, etc.
AEET is a mini online museum of objects that should be appreciated, not forgotten.
Thanks as always for taking us vicariously on your treasure hunts, Karswell.
Appreciate that JMR, thank you! And yes, I’ve been going through that site for a few days now, and I’ve only managed to come back with more confusion than answers, despite all the great info.
ReplyDeleteNOTE: bikini photo by Cindy from her estate sale
ReplyDeleteI have to say, whoever did the bikini did a really fine job, it properly fits the curves and the gold rings are a nice touch.
ReplyDeleteThe sculpt itself is very nice, it's very "natural" and contains a lot of lines and wrinkles a less capable sculpture would exclude for beauty standards. I like the way the cloth hangs, too.
Actually, if you look a bit closer at that last pic you will see that the red bikini is not, in fact, “a really fine job”. It’s totally sloppy and uneven, with water color blobs and drips and I seriously couldn’t erase that crap from her body fast enough. It looked like a 2 year old did it.
ReplyDeleteI think the details of her left hand and foot are extraordinary. It's hard to believe that such a light touch and delicate motion can be observed and captured in clay. I'm also impressed that details of this subject's skin could be realized so subtly, not just in the sculpture but also in the casts taken from its mold. It's a lovely piece.
ReplyDeleteVandals!
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