Art Nouveau animal figurine "Reclining Polar Bear" by KPM Berlin In a relaxed posture, the head resting on the front paw, the hind legs stretched out. Subtle fur drawing with hints of muscles and tendons. Sparse underglaze painting with brown-greyish accentuation of the nose, eyes and hind legs. Designed by Anton Puchegger, 1910, marked "PUCHEGGER". Decor no. 140/331. unmarked; minimally worn; sceptre and painter's mark. H. 9 cm. L. 36 cm. The Austrian animal sculptor, trained at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, lived in Berlin from 1905, where he observed many of his figures in the Zoological Garden. Between 1909 and 1917, Puchegger supplied numerous animal models to KPM-Berlin. One of his most remarkable sculptures is the "Reclining Bear", which the manufactory presented at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1910. Cf. Bröhan Museum Collection, vol. V/I, fig. 207; Von Treskow, fig. 222. An Art Nouveau porcelain figure of a lying polar bear. Insignificantly restored. Minor rubbed. Sceptre and painter's mark. KPM-Berlin. Circa 1910 - 1920.