The "Eisvogel" (Kingfisher) figurine comes from the Kunstabteilung Stammwerk Selb of the ROSENTHAL porcelain factory in Selb in Bavaria (FRG). The founder, Philippe Rosenthal, established the family business around 1879 in Selb in Bavaria in the castle of Erkersreuth where he developed and industrialized the paint shop. The company quickly acquired an international reputation.
The stamp (RosenXthal interspersed with the Bavarian crown above GERMANY) as it appears under the base of the figurine corresponds to production from the year 1957 (cf. Book ROSENTHAL - Hundert Jahre Porzellan published in 1982 at the occasion of the centenary of the manufacture). The figurine bears the signature "F. HEIDENREICH" engraved in the base. The figurine is referenced under the name "Eisvogel" with the number 1678 in the creations of the year 1938. Hand-painted figurine.
About the artist: ceramist and sculptor of figurines, Fritz Heidenreich was born in 1895 in Mähring (near Augsburg) and died in 1966 in Selb. Initial pottery training. Following a war injury to his arm, he studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Nuremberg. From 1917 to 1919, he studied at the Porzellanfachschule (Professional Porcelain School) in Selb. When he left in 1919, he entered the service of Rosenthal where he successively exercised the functions of retoucher, then from 1934 of modeler and creator of plastic subjects, mainly animals. First Prize received at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1937 with his composition of fish "Scalare". In 1950, he created the first asymmetrical vase.
A beautiful, very inspired example.
Height 12cm; Weight 0.410 kg