CIRCA 1750, PROBABLY GÖGGINGEN

Details

A GERMAN WHITE FAIENCE FIGURE OF 'HANSWURST'
CIRCA 1750, PROBABLY GÖGGINGEN
The dwarf modeled as a smoker, his mouth open for the pipe, a square hole in his back, perhaps for the bellows
17 ¼ in. (43.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 29 June 1987, lot 42.
With Robert Williams, England.

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Lot Essay

The present lot depicts Hanswurst, a popular figure in German comedy, dressed in his typical wide-brimmed hat, belt and braces and ruff collar. Joseph Anton Stranitzky, the most famed actor to play Hanswurst, popularized the naive slapstick humor of the character in Vienna at the Kärntnertortheater in the early 18th century.

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