Single Figurines Owl Boettger Stoneware

Along with his teacher August Gaul, Max Esser was one of the most important animal sculptors of the early 20th century. In particular, the depiction of nature in all its beauty testifies to excellent craftsmanship, which has been practiced to perfection for over three centuries at the MEISSEN^® manufactory.

Esser's 1921 figurine "Owl" made of earthy cooper stoneware is a particularly beautiful sculpture example of his unmistakable craftsmanship, which can best be described as a tightrope walk between true-to-nature depiction and decorative formal language. Through the only hinted plumage structures, the Böttgersteinzeug sculpture is, as it were, transposed into a timelessly decorative sphere. The fine rim of plumage on the figure's face corresponds harmoniously with the decoration of the sculpture's lower pedestal rim. At the same time, all the features of the Cooper's stoneware figure speak to us immediately, as if we were looking at a living specimen of the species. This fascinating effect is created by infinite love and devotion to the craft.