BOETTGER STONEWARE FIGURE OF A LARGE EAGLE OWL.
Meissen. 1924-1934. Model E. H鰏el 1928.

B鰐tger stoneware. Life-size figure of a naturalistically modelled eagle owl. The large bird is enthroned on
a geometric pedestal consisting of a sphere embedded in the surface of a truncated pyramid
on a flat plinth. Height 65.5cm.
Pfeiffer mark; embossed stamp 'B鰐tger Steinzeug' V190; porcelain former no. 23; incised L230.

Provenance:
Personal gift of E. H鰏el. By inheritance still in family estate.

Erich H鰏el's eagle owl impresses; besides his size; by the detailed; realistic modelling
of his plumage; his claws and the austere features of his face. He sits enthroned on a
pedestal whose smooth surfaces and straight lines form an attractive contrast to the
moving; soft forms of the body. With the help of this contrariness; the modeller succeeds
in modelling an extremely exciting sculpture without any dynamic poses or sweeping
movements. The geometric contours of the pedestal are increasingly dissolved upwards and
merge into an ever stronger naturalism; culminating in the striking facial features of the
eagle owl. At first the accurate square of the plinth tapers to the less severe shape of
the sphere. H鰏el also succeeds impressively in bridging the gap between pure geometric
form and owl body by positioning the bird's claws almost unnaturally symmetrically on the
sphere. The delicacy of the down of the breast feathers is brought to the point by sparing
surface movement. The soft; flat contours stand in stark contrast to the sharp;
meticulously modelled facial features of the eagle owl; emphasising them additionally.
H鰏el follows the same principle when modelling the back; on which the individually
stepped; symmetrically arranged tail and wing feathers merge upwards into a softly
modelled plumage.In his model; H鰏el skillfully plays with the properties of the B鰐tger
stoneware material to model different surface structures. The unglazed; monochrome surface
reveals every subtlety of the modelling; giving the eagle owl its almost lifelike
character.


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Art trade; Van Ham.