Soviet porcelain figurine "Red Guard" Vasily Kuznetsov, circa 1918

APPROXIMATELY 1918: height 21 cm, after the artist’s design, executed by sculptor N. Daladugin, dressed predominantly in black with a red shirt and belt, with a rifle resting nearby, with a green factory mark and the artist’s signature in Cyrillic.

PROVENANCE Collection of Nicholas Lynn Sotheby’s, London, Russian Sale, Thursday 19 February 1998, lot 579

LITERATURE Nina Lobanov-Rostovsky: Revolutionary Ceramics, Soviet Porcelain 1917-1927, Cassell, London, 1990, p. 101, no. 105

NOTE Vasily Kuznetsov (1892-1923) was the head of the sculpture department of the State Porcelain Manufactory. According to tradition, this model was created in 1918 after the first months of the October Revolution. Similar models are presented in: T.N. Nosovich, I.P. Popova: State Porcelain Manufactory 1904-1944, St. Petersburg Orchestra, 2005, p. 321.