This miniature erotic figure group dates from the early to mid nineteenth century. Possibly Russian Private Factory after a Gardner/Popov model.
We see the familiar theme of a woman accidentally exposing part of her body in the act of doing something else. In this example, she has gathered up her skirts to insulate her hands from the heat of the soup pot. In doing so, she has exposed her legs.
I am sure this was provocative and a little humorous in its day. Is the priest staring at his soup or her legs? Just what kind of appetite is he thinking of satisfying? The composition gives this miniature group an erotic ambiguity.
Well modelled with good quality enamel work. Wonderful details. The dog with its eyes fixed on the priest. The gilded edge book. The curved bench. The knee highs the woman wears. The odd shapes floating in the soup. Song birds? Baby turtles? What exotic delight is this priest going to consume? A quality object.
So far unable to put an order or denomination to the priest. The black skull cap is uncommon. Identifying what kind of priest he is might help with the attribution. Research ongoing.
You may remember another erotic miniature of a priest/monk that was posted on April 26, 2016. He wears the same black robe and skull cap as you can see. Further images of it with two related miniatures can be found in the archives.
Marked with an enamelled 17.
6.8 cm in height.
