Elegant cast iron statuette of a female figure skater, circa 1970s-80s.
Stands a little over 6" tall, with a small flat round plinth 1 ¾" wide. The maker's logo is stamped on the plinth near the skates. Three stylized Cyrillic letters "ХЛМ" which stand for "Художественное Литье, Мытищи" are the mark of the Mytishchi Experimental Factory of Artistic Casting located in the suburbs of Moscow. The name of the sculptor, Berezin, and the price of 3 rubles 50 kopeks are in high relief on the rim of the plinth.
In very good to excellent condition. There are a few minuscule spots, mostly on the top half of the statuette, where the black coating, or "Dutch soot" as it is called by the masters of cast iron casting, is chipped or rubbed off, not too detractive against the grace and elegant laconism and anatomical precision of the figurine's posture. Anyone who watches figure skating can testify to the realism of her movement frozen in this statuette.
The Mytishchi Experimental Factory of Artistic Casting was founded in the 1930s, specifically for the purpose of creating memorial plaques, monuments, busts and other propaganda items, from small to very large. During WW2 the factory switched to manufacturing helmets, camouflage netting and handles for shovels. After the war the factory returned to its original production lines but expanded and upgraded the materials used for them to include aluminum, cast iron and bronze.
Please note that the penny in our photo is for size reference.
Item# 39616
$95.00 Add to cart