HISTORY:
Oh My! While my wife has been handing me a LOT of her treasured English chinaware (that needs to live in a new home due to space issues) she handed me this stunning piece that she says must make way for some Royal Doulton figurines she is now focusing on.
I refer to this piece as stunning because it is not only beautifully hand decorated, the fine detail is incredible. I would believe that many many hours of painstaking craftpersonship went into decorating this piece, let alone the incredible detail from the mould as well.
This porcelain maker was (and still is) well known for the quality of their pieces and sought after by "high society", much like a status symbol.
I will give a complete and detailed description of all aspects of this piece and some personal comments too!
Sit down, have a cuppa and read all about this very unique piece ...
AELTESTE VOLKSTEDT - Porcelain Group Artwork
Made in Germany (East)
Circa 1915 ~ 1934
Aelteste Volkstedt actually means "oldest Volkstedt" as this company is one of the oldest porcelain makers in Volstedt, Germany. If you would like to know more (and who wouldn't?) then click HERE for more information about Volkstedt and the world of porcelain.
The design depicts a lady of stature, possibly nobility based on what appears to be a Gold tiara on her adorned head.
While my wife is drawn to fine English chinaware, this porcelain work of art is another thing again. It fuses our intense interest in "the arts" with fine porcelain craftsperson work. Stunning to behold but take a closer look and the detail is astounding!
A casual glance shows the lady, who appears to be quite young, sitting on the period chair and in conversation with her maid servant, who is dark skinned, probably Moorish (North African descent)
We believe the lady of the household is quite young due to her facial complexion and the lovely "modern" style of dress she is wearing. Her maid servant is wearing a brightly coloured uniform, probably in line with the household requirements for such "helpers"
The maid servant is presenting the lady with a basket of variously coloured flowers.
Russell's rant: It's all very colonialist and 18th century! Them and us ... servants (imported, voluntarily?) at the beholding of the aristocracy while the "masses" struggle to survive - not really my sort of thing but I love the art and skill involved in the creation of this piece!
Moving right along ...
Let's talk about the art and the skill in some (actually a lot) of detail.
The Lady
A lot of adornments on her head! Some sort of bow on top (although at first glance it looks like a bird!) and two colourful flower decorations. Prominent at the front is the tiara. Her beautiful shoulder length hair is curly and a gradient of Blacks and Greys, you can almost see the individual hairs as these are showing on her head. The bow on top of her head and the tiara have Gold gilding applied carefully.
Her face is smooth and very "White person" caucasian coloured skin to which she has applied a Pinkish rouge to give a slight blushing effect. Her nose is "average", not a big honker! Her lips are thin and look to have had an Orange lipstick applied, the mouth is closed. Her eyes are quite frankly so lifelike it is scary! She has Brown Pupils, Black Iris's and her Sciera is White with a little Pinkish colouring in the corners, like most people have. The colouring is not a solid colour but varies across the eye part, truly amazing artistry skills! Her ears have lobes and the neck is shaped with the SCM muscle being slightly prominent because she has her head turned.
The shoulder area also has touches of pale Oranges on her Left side, as though she was a bit hot. Maybe it is the lace shawl making her hot? Such a beautiful piece of porcelain lace (often called Dresden lace) and the detail in this is magnificient
Her arms, which are resting with one arm of the high back chair and the other arm on her leg, are covered by the Orange/Brown top section of her dress, there bing a central Black triangular shaped area which is outlined with Gold gilding - how on earth did the artist get up inside there? (Me thinks loudly)
The Lady's waist is small, she is no tubby!
Around the wrist area of her dress top section is more porcelain lace, lots of it!
Her fingers have individual detail (not webbed like a duck!) and are slim, long and they look to be in proportion to each other although it is a little hard to tell because four fingers of each hand are curled inwards a little. Her fingernails are clearly visible and no, she is not wearing nail polish!
The body of her very "full" dress (or is it a gown?) has plenty of material texture showing and small flower arrangements all over the material. These flowers look to be fantasy, I have certainly never seen flowers like these. The central Stigma of the flowers is actually a "dot" of more Gold gilding. Keep in mind that ALL of the decoration on this dress, for that matter the whole piece, has been hand crafted - it must have taken a long long time to complete this work. Finally the bottom edges of the dress also have more of the porcelain lace - exquisite!
Taking a peek under the front of her dress (Hmmm), she is wearing shoes with a Black front strap which has a Gold gilded buckle. Inside the front of her dress is a small "grotto" which is plain White - I cannot see her underwear!
All of the porcelain is glazed, except of course the lacework.
The Girl
Moving on to the maid servant ...
She also has a fancy head dress, perhaps in line with either her cultural background or at the insistence of the household. Her facial complexion is a Chocolate Brown with Pink Red "pouty" lips - her mouth is closed. Her eyes are cast up towards the Lady and have similar colouring to that of the lady i.e light Brown Pupils, Black Iris and and her Sciera is White with a little Pinkish colouring in the corners. A bright Yellow buttoned jacket with Pink/Purples at the wrists and some ruffles but these are not made from lace porcelain. Around her waist is a wide Crimson belt with bow to the side. She is wearing a White pleated skirt with a bottom edge design but again, no lace work. Gold gilding has been applied to forehead and next to the buttons on her jacket.
I took a look (yet again, hmmmm) under her dress from the rear and my goodness, the artist didn't stop there! The underside of her skirt is coloured a deep Blue with White pants down to her shows. The more I look, the more I am amazed at the attention to the smallest of details.
I haven't said much about the basket (or is it a bowl) of flowers. The decoration on the basket is Gold gilding and the flowers inside are plentiful and very colourful. Her hands are largely obscured by the way she is holding the basket but I get the impression there is less detail around the hands than that of the lady e.g no fingernails visible and the hand seems less detailed.
Random thought from Russell: After looking really closely at this girl, I am wondering if in fact she is a visiting person of note and not a servant at all! The primary reason this sprung to mind is that head adornment she is wearing ... it looks "fancy" and has a Red jewel in the front along with a splash of Gold gilding .... hmmm maybe she is not a servant at all
Now we move around the back to look at "behind the scenes" ...
The fine artwork continues here, just because it is the rear that didn't stop the artist in their work. The large high back chair has a front textured Purple material effect and the rear of the chair is solid (not a basket weave or other type) Gold gilding has been applied all over the chair - certainly this chair was intended for a person of aristocracy to sit in. Taking a peek underneath the chair, I can see the dress as it would appear in "real life" - damn that took me by surprise as that is one tough spot to try and work with a brush.
But even with the above "thought bubble" about the girl's stature in life, the setting has been arranged so that the dark skinned girl is subservient to the Lady. The girl is kneeling and looking upwards while the Lady castes her eyes downwards to the girl. The Lady has far superior clothing and decoration to that of the girl.
DIMENSIONS:
220mm (8.5") wide x 130mm (5") deep x 240mm (9.5") height
The large oval shaped base is 15mm thick
WEIGHT: 1.25Kg (amost 3Lb's) - this piece is quite heavy
The base is bare, unglazed porcelain (except for the porcelain maker's mark) and most importantly, flat! No pieces of felt or other foreign materials have been added to the base area
MAKERS MARK
One of the larger photographs shows the single mark underneath the piece. This is in a light Blue and slighty blurred and has the spot application of glazing over the top of the mark area only - the rest of the base is unglazed. No labels telling you where it was made, no dates, just the simple (but readily identifiable) makers mark.
Here is a more closeup photo of the mark underneath - this is from the piece we are offering, not something we grabbed online!
It is a little difficult to see but at the top of the mark is a very small cross
This mark is known as the Volkstedt crown mark and positively dates the piece from the period 1915 ~ 1934
This mark was not used post 1935 because all production ceased during 1939~1945 (WWII) due to the facilities being badly damaged by the bombing of what was East Germany and even after the war it wasn't easy trying to manufacture porcelain whilst under Russian control - in fact the company went to Ireland in later years!
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Here's the crunch! Not much good having a beautiful piece of porcelain figurines if it was not in great condition.
We are NOT experts nor appraisers, just ordinary folk who love their art, but we both feel that this Aeltest Volkstedt porcelain piece rates at 9/10
NO missing sections!
NO damage to the porcelain meaning that there are no chips or cracks
NO observeable crazing
NO discolouration to the bright vibrant colours used
NO artwork damage through handling or wear n tear
NO "finger/hand" damage to either figure
But this is afterall very old, approaching 100 years in fact and nothing that old is perfect ...
The porcelain lace is the most delicate part of this piece and yes, we believe there is some minor damage ... it is a little hard to tell but in a couple of places the lace work doesn't look quite right.
By the way, this whole piece has been cleaned by using a pure water (no additives) spray and air dried - NOT A CLOTH! The lace work is definitely NOT sugar lace!
The areas of lace work that we suspect have small damage are:
The shawl around her neck, on her left side the lace work doesn't quite "look right" in one part.
The bottom edge of the Lady's dress, in the front just above her shoe, it looks like a very small piece of the lace work is damaged - a Yellowish porcelain "dot" is showing, that will be the underneath soft porcelain used when creating the lace work. The same goes for around the back, again on the bottom edge lacework, another little Yellowish "dot"
In our opinions though, remarkable condition considering the years and travels this has seen ... we acquired this originally from a distant family member in England who in turn had vague links back to Europe, Germany in particular. So this piece has been around the world although the last 40 odd years it has been living with us.
VERY SPECIAL NOTES:
Never ever lift or move this piece by holding the lace work, you are asking for trouble! Take a firm grip using the solid porcelain areas and all will be well with the world.
Since we have done taking a few photographs and describing this piece as best we can, it has now been placed in a sealed clear plastic (dirt/dust protection) and then within a custom made (strong) cardboard box with plenty of "cushioning"
When this is being shipped, it will be again boxed within another "outer" providing double protection to the delicate porcelain inside.
After much thought, we decided that it is most likely this porcelain will be returning to Europe (going back home!) and for this reason we have decided that SHIPPING IS FREE INTERNATIONALLY.
Shipping means it will be tracked while in transit, standard service (not Express or Courier) and FULLY INSURED for the sale value while in transit. Not that the latter really matters, for many you cannot put a price on such unique items.
