1926 Bavarian Rosenthal Porcelain Art Deco Gymnastic Sculpture with Glass Base. Long solid white androgynous figure in the middle of a split, arched forward and looking ahead with both arms outstretched. Greenish glass base separate from porcelain figure. Style of marking on bottom of figure indicates it was made in 1926. 

Size: 23 x 7 1/2 in. 

#4331 . 

Rosenthal GmbH is a German manufacturer of porcelain products and other household goods. It was first founded in 1879 in Selb, Bavaria by Philipp Rosenthal (1855-1937), after he moved his porcelain painting business there from Werl in North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1897 he combined forces with several other merchants to create Bauer, Rosenthal & Co. in the German town of Kronach, keeping the porcelain section of the business separate under the name Philipp Rosenthal & Co. AG. In 1908, Rosenthal bought out the porcelain manufacturer Thomas in Marktredwitz, and acquired the company Zeidler & Co. in 1917. With the acquisition of Krister Porzellanmanufaktur in Wałbrzych, Silesia in 1921, it became one of the largest porcelain companies in the region. When the Nazis rose to power, Rosenthal was ousted by his own board of directors when his Jewish origins were discovered, even though he had converted to Catholicism in his youth. Although he was allowed to remain as a figurehead due to the international recognition of the brand, his death in 1937 led to complete Aryanization of the company, which also absorbed the porcelain manufacturer Waldershof and was reestablished as Rosenthal Isolatoren GmbH in 1939. When the Nazis passed a Decree in 1941 forcing the discontinuation of Jewish companies and brands altogether, Joseph Goebbels personally intervened to allow the Rosenthal name to remain, pointing out the enormous income the company generated in the global market. The main factory was closed in 1945 at the end of the war, but Rosenthal’s grandchildren revived the brand in 1951. In the 1960s they expanded to sell designer furniture and complete home sets, with an extremely successful collaboration with Italian luxury designer Versace leading to numerous product lines. In 1997 Rosenthal was bought out by the Waterford Wedgwood Group, but in 2009 the Group wanted to divest Rosenthal due to the economic collapse. The company was acquired by the Italian manufacturer Sambonet Paderno Industrie, although the headquarters remained in Selb. The Rosenthal Archive, a collection of around 15,000 exhibits from 130 years of company history, were purchased by the Oberfranken Foundation in the liquidation proceedings, and put on permanent exhibition in the State Museum of Porcelain in Hohenberg an der Eger, Selb. These include examples from nearly all their designs from the company’s founding right up to the 21st Century, with original pieces from collaborations with artists like Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, Wilhelm Wagenfeld and Walter Gropius.