Soviet porcelain figurine "Red Guardsman" by Vasily Kuznetsov, circa 1918

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

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

LITERATURE Nina Lobanova-Rostovskaya: 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 at the State Porcelain Manufactory. According to tradition, this model was created in 1918 after the first months of the October Revolution. Similar models are featured in: T.N. Nosovich, I.P. Popova: State Porcelain Manufactory 1904-1944, St. Petersburg Orchestra, 2005, p. 321.