If I am interpreting the mark correctly, these two “Women of the World” were made by the Gardner factory of Moscow between 1780 and 1800.
I found the taller woman first. She has an incised name underneath that stumped me for years. I knew it probably meant “Greek” but in what language would it be spelled ‘Grecqup’? There was something off about the inscription. I had all but given up ever solving it.
Then I happened on this miniature. Incised “Suisses” and “G” underneath, the letters running together just as in the larger figure.
I can see the G so easily on the first now that I have the second. Without it I would still be baffled. I name this miniature “Rosetta”.
The person who incised the letters of ‘Grecque’ may not have been familiar with the latin alphabet. The tail of the q is looped in the wrong direction and the second e was omitted.
French was the language of the Russian Imperial court at this time. Young noble women were sent to a school established by Catherine II where they were taught to speak flawless French amongst other noble pursuits of the time.
These figures would have been part of larger sets of nationalities. I am sure each seen here would have its counterpart in the other’s size. Since the inscriptions on these figures are in French, maybe they were known as “Femmes du Monde”.
I know there might be men in the set. It’s just fun to think of it as being women only. Like girl power from the era of Catherine the Great. I will just have to wait and see who else turns up on one of these bases. Man or woman, I am sure my heart will flutter.
Greek Woman 12.8 cm in height.
Rosetta 6.2 cm in height.
