No, don't get me wrong. There are plenty of wonderful things about the world wide web; access to endless troves of information and imagery, the ability to network with people around the globe, and instantaneous delivery of newsworthy information.
The internet also enables collectors to spend money like no other conduit in the history of man. No longer do collectors have to hope and pray to come across sought-after pieces by religiously scouring antique shops and shows. No longer do they have to wait for monthly printed hobby newsletters with classified ads, or pay for subscriptions to printed auction house catalogs. Now, at any time, day or night, collectors can find just about anything they want, for sale anywhere in the world, with a few clicks of a mouse.
It's an exciting (if financially exhausting) advantage of living in the information age.
Translation: I recently acquired an extraordinary, and apparently extremely rare clinky, and I'm going to share it with you today.
This magnificent figure was produced by Augarten Wien, and sculpted by Albin Dobrich, who also sculpted Augarten's famous line of Spanish Riding School Lipizzan figures. This piece measures approximately 8 1/2 inches tall by 10 inches long, and was designed around the 1920s-1930s. Date of production is a little harder to pinpoint, given the consistency of Augarten's production quality and little-changed backstamps, but I'd guess between 1920-1950.
The details on this foxhunter are incredible, as is par for the course with all Dobrich pieces that Augarten produced. Even the riding crop is painted to include the spiral pattern of braided leather down the shaft!
And let's talk for a moment about the intricate tree branch jump that supports the entire figure:
What makes this particular piece truly stand out though is the exceptional quality of the glaze work. The dapples, which upon casual glance appear to be just gray shaded areas with dapples rubbed in, are actually individually painted gray hairs. Imagine how much patience, and steady hands, required by this approach!
Albin Dobrich's signature can be seen on the base as well:
I've spoken with a number of very experienced and knowledgeable collectors and so far none of them have encountered or seen this piece. I imagine many did not survive intact over the years given the precarious pose and construction, so I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to give this rare and undamaged example a home in the herd.
Until next time!
(P.S. - "next time" should be much sooner than the timelapse between my last post and this one. I hope!)
