Sculpture H 13.2, base H 5.2, total H 18.4 cm.

Johann Philipp Ferdinand Preiss, who came from a family of sculptors, was born in 1882 in Erbach-Odenwald, a town known for its ivory carvers. He produced his first Classical sculptures during his apprenticeship with Philipp Willmann (1846-1910) and continued his training at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, before working for a time making porcelain figure models for the Chidini company in Milan. He entered the studio of Carl Haebler in Baden-Baden in 1905.
He later founded the Preiss & Kassler studio in 1907 together with his friend Arthur Kassler. The studio specialised in fine sculpture and woodturning. The response to their first ivory sculptures was initially restrained. Preiss & Kassler first gained success when they began producing chryselephantine figures in the latest Parisian style in collaboration with Robert Kionsek of the Gladenbeck foundry in 1910. When war broke out in 1914, the company already employed six ivory workers, including Louis Küchler and Ludwig Walther. The studio remained closed during and after the war, and throughout the troubled post-war period, the artists had to come to terms with a lack of raw materials and flagging sales.
While Kassler managed the commercial side of the studio, Preiss concentrated on artistic direction and was able to resume full production in the 1920s.
The studio's most successful models were the elaborately crafted ivory statuettes in the Art Deco style, which were generally combined with onyx and marble bases. They depicted modern, lifelike women from the early 20th century world of sports and theatre.
The use of dental drills, with the help of which the ivory could be worked more quickly and precisely, allowed the designs to be produced in series. They were purchased by an international clientele comprising especially of customers from England and the United States.
The artists who worked for Preiss & Kassler included, among many others, Rudolf Belling, Dorothea Charol, Walter Kassler, Richard W. Lange, Philip Lenz, Paul Philippe, Otto Poertzel and Ludwig Walter. The company took over the Berlin foundry Rosenthal & Maeder in 1929.
Preiss & Kassler existed until 1943, the year that Preiss died of a brain tumour at the age of 61. The workshop and sample warehouse burnt out completely after a bombing raid shortly before the end of the Second World War in 1945.

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Ivory, faceted pale green onyx marble base with faint banding.

Engraved ""F. Preiss"" on the back of the plinth.

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