Over the coming months, I am going to show you some of the figures that inspire me in my work. I will talk about their history as best as I can reconstruct it. Many come to me as orphans, almost always mistaken for things they are not.
I have grouped a small number of these figures together based on their common characteristics. The method of forming, the look and feel of the modelling, surface treatment and often the subject matter point to a common source. Figures in this group are usually marked only with basic, non literate scratch marks through the glaze into the body. My thesis is they come from Russian Private Factories of the 19th century.
Some of the more important RPFs are Gardner, Popov, Batenin, Kornilov, Yusupov and Miklashevsky. The 19th century was a fertile time for porcelain making in Russia. While early on the private factories emulated European models, over time the subject matter, characters and finish became more distinctly Russian.
I have on more than one occasion had my instincts confirmed by encountering other examples carrying the private factory marks in books and online. There is something about the Russian figures that sets them apart.
This pipe and match holder is one such figure. Press mould porcelain. Onglaze enamels with gilding. Four lines scratched in base. Attributing RPFs 1840s until and as when the particular factory can be identified. My best guess is Kornilov Brothers. I hope to one day have confirmation of whether or not I am right.
‘Cobblestone’ bases occur in Russian figures depicting street life. This particular gentleman is a lamp lighter. The tool lying on the base in the foreground is for raising and lowering the lantern/lamp (which here is a lidded container for matches) to and from its post. We don’t see the hook he is to hang it on. Perhaps that is what he is looking up to. Behind him on the ground is a sack which would presumably hold candles and other tools of his trade. We just happen to catch him taking a smoke break. With him being also a match and pipe holder, we are invited to join in.
This figure has it going on for me. The clogs, the low waisted pants, the loose shirt with the embroidered vest over it, the sideburns and the long hair sweeping up under his hat. Just a working guy having a smoke. Those were the days.This figure represents someone from the time and place in which it was made. This is what I would aspire to for the figures I make. That they be true to time and place as this figure is.
* From here on I will use the designation RPFs to stand for Russian Private Factories when discussing attribution of the group members.
