4" x 6 ¼" x 3 3/8" (10x16x8.5cm), smiling but determined young woman stands at the edge of a wheat field, the large space behind her intended to hold pens and pencils.

Excellent condition, particularly remarkable considering its interactive nature: its previous owners had ample opportunity to accidentally chip or otherwise mark it as they moved pens and pencils in and out of it many times a day. Only the gold trim around the very bottom of the figure shows any wear.

It appears as #44 in "Soviet Porcelain with Valuations of Rarities [Volume 2]". The Harvest ("Урожай") was sculpted by Sofia Belikova and Kapitolina Kosenkova is credited as the painter; the face is nicely executed - avoiding the very stylized facial features frequently seen on Soviet porcelain.

This holder is one of the more difficult to locate Soviet figurines. It is particularly desirable because it so perfectly embodies the concepts of Socialist Realism - the approved Soviet school of artistic expression from the 1930s to the end of the USSR. It can be compared to the famous "Friendship of Nations" fountain located in Moscow's All- Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) which is a prime example of SR art with its gilded statues of attractive women farmers holding wheat sheaves and other produce... Our photo of part of that fountain will serves to illustrate the popularity of the agricultural theme.

/see #265a&b in "Soviet Porcelain 1940-1970 - Guide for Beginners"

/trademark is 486 in Volume One of "Marks on Soviet Porcelain, Faience, and Majolica, 1917-1991" /