Jeanne GRUT (1927-2009) for Royal Copenhagen. Blue Fish or Coelacanth. Wall relief in blue ceramic (chip). Height 60 cm and Length 110 cm Provenance: La Boutique Danoise. 42, avenue de Friedland. 75008 Paris. A copy of the original invoice dated 18/01/1975 will be given to the buyer. Bibliography: L. Lautrup-Larsen, Stentøj - Den kongelige porcelainesfabrik, Nyt Nordisk forlag Arnold Busck, 2007, similar model p. 260 Did you know? The sculptor Jeanne Grut graduated from Slöjdföreningen Skola (now the University of Design and Crafts) in Göteborg in 1948 and went on to study sculpture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where she graduated in 1955. From 1958 to 1987, she was employed by Royal Copenhagen - The Danish Porcelain Factory. Grut is known for her magnificent naturalistic animal figures in porcelain, stoneware and earthenware. She did not model her sculptures after images, but carefully studied animals in their natural habitats and in the zoo, perfecting her gift for finding the ideal features to make her figures lively and captivating. A copy of 'Coelacanth' was presented to the Emperor of Japan during his visit to the Royal Factory in Copenhagen in 1971. The Coelacanth existed for around 250 million years and was thought to have disappeared 70 million years ago. However, on 22 December 1938, Captain Goosen caught one 20 miles south-west of East London in South Africa, three miles from the mouth of the River Chalumna. 20 blue fish have been caught since 1938 and scientists now call the species Latimeria Chalumnae. Sculptor Jeanne Grut was inspired by the Coelacanth and created a relief sculpture in earthenware. This blue-glazed piece gives a striking impression of something extremely strange - a living fossil - a real fairytale fish.