A PORCELAIN FIGURE OF AN ARMENIAN WOMAN FROM THE 'PEOPLES OF RUSSIA' SERIES

The present lot comes from the famous Gallery Popoff, which was largely dedicated to outstanding 18th century porcelain. The gallery's founder Alexander Popov (1880-1964) was truly devoted to this subject matter. According to the memoirs of one of the gallery's visitors, Alexander Popov gave exact specifications about porcelain items to the touch, being an already elderly owner with poor eyesight. Alexander Popov assembled one of the most significant private collections of Russian porcelain, located outside Russia.

Popov had an extensive collection of figures from the Peoples of Russia series, created by Jacques-Dominique Rachette (1744-1809), the chief modeller at the Imperial Porcelain Factory during the reign of Empress Catherine II. The present figure of an Armenian woman is a very rare example, depicted on the group photograph of figures, sent to the Exhibition of Russian Art in London in 1935.