Art Nouveau Sculpture

Art Nouveau sculpture by R.S.K. AMPHORA; Bohemia, ca. 1900.
"The Hour of Prayer."
Enameled porcelain.
With mark.
Measurements: 27,5 x 42 x 15 cm.
Ornamental Art Nouveau sculpture of orientalist theme, molded in porcelain and decorated with a soft polychrome of warm tones, applied with great expressiveness. It represents an Arab warrior who has dismounted from his horse at the time of prayer. We see him kneeling on a small carpet, with his eyes lowered, his eyes closed and his hands crossed on his chest. Behind him, the horse remains calm, and advances his head in the direction of his master. Particularly noteworthy is the great naturalism of the modeling, both of the figure and ornamental details as well as the anatomy of the animal, whose posture, complex, appears magnificently achieved.
The Amphora factory was founded in 1892 under the name Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel (R.S.K.) Amphora in Trnovany, now in the Czech Republic (then Turn-Teplitz, Bohemia, Austria). Already in its early years, the factory was awarded for the extraordinary technical and decorative quality of its pieces at international exhibitions such as Chicago in 1893, San Francisco in 1893 and 1894, and Antwerp in 1894. In 1905 Eduard Stellmacher left the company to form his own company and the firm was renamed Amphora Factory Riessner & Kessel. In 1910 Kessel also left, and between 1910 and 1945 the name of the factory became Amphora Works Riessner. In 1945 the factory was nationalized.