Lot 344: A PAIR OF GERMAN LEAD AND ZINC MODELS OF CHILDREN WITH HOUNDS

A PAIR OF GERMAN LEAD AND ZINC MODELS OF CHILDREN WITH HOUNDS
THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY, AFTER KARL HEINRICH MÖLLER (1802-1882), CAST BY MORITZ GEISS (1805-1875), BERLIN
The girl in short-sleeved dress holding a plate of biscuits, the partially draped boy gesturing with his left hand, each with cast signature to base 'M.GEISS BERLIN'
22 in. (56 cm.) high; 20 in. (51 cm.) wide; 8½ in. (21.5 cm.) deep (2)

All lots removed to off-site warehouse the day after the sale - 2 weeks free storage
Moritz Geiss championed the use of zinc for casting sculpture at his manufactory in Berlin. Zinc ornaments, at the vanguard of technical development at the time, had the advantage of being both easier to cast and cheaper to produce. A number of life-size copies of popular statues were displayed by Geiss at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert purchased a number of these to decorate the gardens of Osborne House.