A PORCELAIN BOTTLE STOPPER IN THE FORM OF CHICHIKOV FROM GOGOLS DEAD SOULS, GARDNER PORCELAIN

A RUSSIAN PORCELAIN BOTTLE STOPPER IN THE FORM OF CHICHIKOV FROM GOGOL'S DEAD SOULS, GARDNER PORCELAIN FACTORY, LATE 19TH CENTURY modelled in the form of the man's head, atop a squared wooden base; overall height: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.) LOT NOTES From the mid-19th century the Gradner factory set up the production, together with other practical objects, of such original items as bottle stoppers with porcelain faces. At the time these figurine stoppers were in great demand for their functionality and at the same time for their comic appearance. The models for their design were based on some of the most popular figurines produced by the factory. The present lot, for example, is made in the form of the head of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, one of the main characters of the Nikolai GogolÍs 19th century novel Dead Souls.