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The works of German sculptor Ferdinand Preiss evoke twin strands of contemporary German culture. His more exotic subjects - such as the Bat Dancer, Torch Dancer and Autumn Dancer - are strongly redolent of the effervescent decadence associated with the cabaret culture of Berlin during the Weimar years from 1919 to 1933. Other figures - for example the Archer, Youth and the Skater - reflect the new focus on youth, vitality and sport that was an integral component of the Modernist spirit.ticism that was to culminate in the Berlin Olympic Games, 1936. The outbreak of war in 1939 had a detrimental effect on the Preiss workshop. The cessation of international trade cut off lucrative foreign contacts and by 1940 the use of metals for any manufacture that was not central to the war effort was prohibited by the Reich.

FERDINAND PREISS

LIGHTER THAN AIR, CIRCA 1925

Details

FERDINAND PREISS
LIGHTER THAN AIR, CIRCA 1925
cold painted bronze and ivory, on marble and onyx plinth
13¼ in. (33.5 cm.) high
engraved mark to brass presentation plaque "Lighter than Air" by Ferdinand Preiss Ada May, the underside of the bronze plinth marked 55 hMCH

Literature

Alberto Shayo, Ferdinand Preiss, Art Deco Sculptor, The Fire and the Flame, Suffolk, 2005, p. 183. (design illustrated).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

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