Tristan, Tiberius,
Glad you enjoyed Gary's snap, there's nothing like a bit of inspiration to fuel our own interests, pursuits and dreams. I can honestly say that my heart-rate goes up a few notches every time I look at work like this. There's nothing quite like seeing one of these military/equestrian figures in perfect condition, and even better than that, having one or two to admire in our own collections!
Looking forward to seeing your new horse T, may the postal-gods smile on its safe journey and arrival ...
Even though money has been particularly tight this past year, between us, we've still turned up some mighty fine pieces. This Meissen "Fischotter," will most likely be my last buy of 2012, though, I've wanted one of Max's sleek little critters for years and it was well worth the wait. Max Esser produced this sculpture in 1931, and it comes in fine white as well as Böttger-Steinzeug. Good Steinzeug is a much-refined stoneware, something they discovered just before perfecting the formula for "white gold," back around 1707. The Böttger recipe was shelved for the most part, but much later there came a renewed interest in this fine casting material, during the first quarter of the 20th century. What do you boys make of the red-brown stone?
There's a great feel to this lithe, intelligent animal, such graceful curves to its wonderful shape. The expressive face, posture of the forearms and paw structure is akin to looking at a photograph, striking realism to my eye. Master Esser also produced works that were quite abstract and modern. He studied under some brilliant instructors. Please enjoy...
I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone the best of holidays. Hopefully, the New Year brings lots of good collecting experiences to all of us!
Bill
