B. HANIROFF for GOLDSCHEIDER (Pilsen, Bohemia, 1845 - Vienna, Austria, 1897). Austria, ca. 1901.

B. HANIROFF for GOLDSCHEIDER (Pilsen, Bohemia, 1845 - Vienna, Austria, 1897). Austria, ca. 1901.
"Leda and the Swan or Triumph", model 2223.
Polychrome terracotta.
Signed on the lower front part.
Published in the book "GOLDSCHEIDER, a catalogue of selected models" by Ora Pinhas. Published by Richard Dennis, 2006. Page 42, with colour photo.
Measurements: 117 x 44 x 60 cm.
The story of Leda and the swan comes from Greek mythology. Leda was the wife of Tindarus, king of Sparta. One day, while strolling along the river Eurotas, after having sexual relations with her husband Tindar, Leda was seduced by Zeus, who appeared in the form of a swan, something he often did in order to have sexual relations with women. From these relations, Leda bore four children, two by her mortal husband Tindarus and two by the god Zeus.
B. Hanniroff was a French sculptor of the Art Nouveau period who worked for the publisher Goldscheider.
In 1885 the sculptor Friedrich Goldscheider left his native Pilsen and settled in Vienna, where he founded his own manufactory of terracotta pieces. He soon became one of the most influential artists in the fields of ceramics and bronze, with shops in Austria, Paris, Leipzig, Berlin and Florence. For more than half a century the Goldscheider firm, considered the finest modernist terracotta factory, created masterpieces of historicism, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The founder was able to attract both acclaimed artists and young innovators to his factory, so that great ceramists of the time, such as W. Bosse, B. Geiger, J. Lorenzl, I. Meisinger and M. Powolny, among others, worked there. After Goldscheider's death, the factory was taken over by his widow Regina, who continued to produce her husband's models, together with new ones created by the artists who worked for the firm, such as D. Chiparus during the Art Deco period. Until its closure with the rise of National Socialism, the factory produced more than four thousand different models, both by Goldscheider himself and by other authors. From the very beginning, the factory won numerous awards, first prizes and gold medals at countless world fairs, exhibitions and trade fairs. Today its pieces are in great demand by collectors all over the world. They can now be admired in museums around the world, such as the Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 2007, Goldscheider's works were shown at the Vienna Museum and the following year at the LBI in New York.