Sarreguemines, Majolica, Bust

The very rare bust that we are pleased to present to you has a special history.
If, like all the fancy and decorative objects from the Sarreguemines factory, it bears a mold number, when we consult the old handwritten directories of the earthenware factory, we are surprised to see that no information concerning it accompanies it.
Contrary to the very long lists of the production of objects, we find nothing, neither on its name, nor on the materials that were used for its production, nor its price… as is the case for the vast majority of objects produced in this factory on the banks of the Saar.
Associated with the fact that we have never come across it, we can wonder if the production of this object saw the light of day and if it was put on the market. The answer is negative, we are in the presence of an object that did not enter the commercial or advertising circuits of the earthenware factory. The second question is why such a beautiful majolica object was not retained. Its form number is 177, its creation dates back to the end of the 1860s, beginning of the 1870s. This was a dramatic period since Sarreguemines and Alsace-Moselle passed into Prussian territory. We can assume that this piece topped with a helmet, a warrior attribute, was a project linked to the war that was about to or had just broken out, but Sarreguemines having become German, its production was no longer retained. We will also note in the old handwritten sources that five successive numbers from 176, our bust is 177, to 180 do not carry any information, suggesting that it was the manufacture of a series of objects that was abandoned.
The bust remained for decades within the walls that saw it born, before it joined, still in Sarreguemines, a collection of rare, high-quality pieces.
The bust has been sealed, so we can see traces of cement inside. We note a lack of material on the base on the back, two small chips on the edge of the helmet and on the back of a shoulder.
Height – 39 cm
This item finds its sources at the dawn of the rich polychrome production of majolica in Sarreguemines.