Mark,
It's amazing what can be found if one stays his hand at collecting German porcelain. This rare, beautiful example is seldom-seen and a great find for the advanced collector. Congratulations on adding this to your collection.
I know the piece was sculpted by the well known artist Max Hermann Fritz, (13. July 1873 - �13. June 1948) but the year of initial production eludes me. We know that Fritz studied at Lorenz Hutschenreuther as a young man and moved to work in Dresden in 1898. There he worked for Meissen, Hutschenreuther, Fraureuth and Rosenthal. The Rosenthal model number 1000 seems to indicate an earlier production date than the 1949 company marking, which would have been the year after his death. That's why I think it was done at an earlier date rather than later, most likely in the 1920's. There are several examples of Fritz' animals found in our thread and like his contemporary K�rner, he was a most prolific artist. He produced many fine bear sculptures like the one I'll add.
Many thanks for adding this fine work!
Bill
