MacDougall's Russian Art Auctions 25 March 2015
25 March 2015
* 139.
A Porcelain Figurine of Emir Abdelkader on a Horse
1,500—2,000 GBP
POPOV MANUFACTORY, MOSCOW, 1850s
Height 10.5 cm, depth 6 cm, length 11 cm.
Named on the base in Latin “Abd_el_Kader”.
with blue underglaze and impressed manufactory marks
The offered figurine is an equestrian statue of the Arab Emir Abdelkader, an Algerian military and religious leader, who led a popular struggle against the French colonial invasion in the mid-19th century, welding various social groups and Arab-Berber tribes into a unified state.
The system of government, which Abdelkader built, has been compared with the Imamate, established in Dagestan, on the fringes of the Russian empire, by Imam Shamil in 1829–1859. The two men were contemporaries and had much in common as Muslim leaders, military commanders, strategists and politicians. In particular, it was Abdelkader’s regard for human rights, religious tolerance and antipathy to terrorist action, which inspired much interest in the Algerian hero in Russia during the mid-19th century, encouraging some of the country’s privately owned porcelain factories to produce figurines in his image.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.