The Return of Persephone
Persephone is one of the most important figures in Greek mythology — a goddess whose story explains the changing seasons, the cycle of life and death, and the deep bond between mother and daughter. Amongst other things, she is associated with spring time and blooming plants, rebirth and renewal.
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter (the goddess of agriculture) and Zeus, and she became the Queen of the Underworld after being taken there by Hades. The legend goes that Persephone was picking flowers in a meadow, when Hades burst from the earth in his chariot and took her against her will to the Underworld, where he made her his queen. Demeter, devastated, searched for Persephone endlessly rather than attend to her duties as the goddess of agriculture, which caused crops fail and famine spread throughout the land. When the cries of the starving people grew so loud that they reached Zeus' ears on Mount Olympus, he intervened and negotiated Persephone’s return to Demeter. However during her time in the kingdom of Hades, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds, which bound her to the Underworld. As a result, she was obliged to spend part of the year - one month for each seed she consumed - with Hades and the remaining six months with her mother Demeter. This myth explains the seasons. When Persephone is below the earth in the kingdom of Hades as the Queen of the Underworld, it is autumn and winter. Yet when Persephone is above ground once more and returned to her mother, Demeter, spring and summer flourish across the earth.
It seems that Persephone has returned once more, and Spring has finally sprung - at least on some days - where I live, and last Sunday, after seeing some ornamental cherry blossoms start to appear on a select few trees, I went out to capture the blooms under the beautiful deep azure blue skies that only really take on this hue during a short period of the year. I took some of my bears with me, but I also slipped in a couple of my half-dolls, including this newly acquired German one made by Dressel Kister & Cie.
This beautiful half-doll is from the “Court Beauties” series made by Dressel Kister & Cie — a line of aristocratic half‑dolls inspired by portraits of Eighteenth Century pre-revolutionary French women of the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Featuring Dressel Kister & Cie's blue bishop’s staff mark on the inside of her mould towards the base, this half-doll was made around 1918 and is extremely rare, especially with no damage to her hands, or the Dresden style moulded roses in her floral coronet, or the rose held in her right hand, all of which have individually made petals. She is one of the most refined examples of Dressel Kister & Cie’s Rococo revival artistry. The sculpt’s serene expression, powdered coiffure, careful painting and delicate roses are hallmarks of Dressel Kister & Cie’s high‑end production. She is unmarked with her mould number, but this is not unusual in larger moulds made specifically for the export market, sold through foreign distributors in the United Kingdom, France and America.
Collectors often link this sculpt to the Princess de Lamballe, confidante of Marie Antoinette. Whilst Dressel Kister & Cie never officially named their moulds after historical figures, the resemblance is deliberate. The hairstyle mirrors Marie-Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe’s portraits by female portraitist Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Though not a literal portrait. Dressel Kister & Cie’s sculptors drew on that imagery to capture the romantic elegance of Versailles. The rose garland and gentle expression evoke the same Rococo ideal of purity and grace.
The "half-doll" is a dainty porcelain or bisque figurine, fashionable in the early Twentieth Century with an upper body, head, arms, but no legs. These dolls were produced in the thousands at the height of their popularity by German factories such as Dressel Kister & Cie, Heubach, Goebel and Kestner. Later they were produced in France, America and later still, in Japan. They commonly served as handles and toppers for fabric covers made for powder boxes on ladies’ dressing tables and small brushes, however they were also made for jewellery boxes, pincushions, tea cosies and other covers. In this case, my four and three quarter inch high half-doll (one of the larger in my collection) is part of Dressel Kister & Cie's luxury line, and was made for either a jewellery case, a powder puff, a large pin cushion or a boudoir lamp.
Dressel Kister were one of the most important German porcelain manufacturers of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, best known today for their exquisitely modelled figurines and half‑dolls. Their history spans both Thuringia and Passau, and the name appears in several related factory phases. Dressel Kister began as a Thuringian porcelain works in the mid‑1800s, producing pipe bowls, doll heads, and eventually high‑quality figurines. By the early Twentieth Century, the Passau branch (Dressel, Kister & Cie.) became especially known for luxury figurines and half‑dolls, many of which are highly collectible today. The early factory in Scheibe‑Alsbach, Thuringia was active under the name Dressel, Kister & Co. from 1844 to 1863, producing small porcelain items and later expanding into figures. A later branch, Dressel, Kister & Cie. in Passau, was established after three businessmen purchased a factory in 1853. This branch produced high‑quality figurines and half‑dolls, exporting worldwide. The business thrived, making half‑dolls (including exotic themes like parrots, dancers, and ladies with animals) and high‑quality figurines inspired by Meissen and Höchst traditions, all with finely painted faces, delicate modeling, and elegant poses. When the Great Depression hit, Dressel, Kister & Cie suffered as so many people no longer had money spare to buy their luxury porcelain items, and the Passau factory finally bankrupt in 1936, and was absorbed into the Volkstedter porcelain group.
Export pieces, often unmarked or marked only with mould numbers until the Great Depression.
The Return of Persephone
Persephone is one of the most important figures in Greek mythology — a goddess whose story explains the changing seasons, the cycle of life and death, and the deep bond between mother and daughter. Amongst other things, she is associated with spring time and blooming plants, rebirth and renewal.
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter (the goddess of agriculture) and Zeus, and she became the Queen of the Underworld after being taken there by Hades. The legend goes that Persephone was picking flowers in a meadow, when Hades burst from the earth in his chariot and took her against her will to the Underworld, where he made her his queen. Demeter, devastated, searched for Persephone endlessly rather than attend to her duties as the goddess of agriculture, which caused crops fail and famine spread throughout the land. When the cries of the starving people grew so loud that they reached Zeus' ears on Mount Olympus, he intervened and negotiated Persephone’s return to Demeter. However during her time in the kingdom of Hades, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds, which bound her to the Underworld. As a result, she was obliged to spend part of the year - one month for each seed she consumed - with Hades and the remaining six months with her mother Demeter. This myth explains the seasons. When Persephone is below the earth in the kingdom of Hades as the Queen of the Underworld, it is autumn and winter. Yet when Persephone is above ground once more and returned to her mother, Demeter, spring and summer flourish across the earth.
It seems that Persephone has returned once more, and Spring has finally sprung - at least on some days - where I live, and last Sunday, after seeing some ornamental cherry blossoms start to appear on a select few trees, I went out to capture the blooms under the beautiful deep azure blue skies that only really take on this hue during a short period of the year. I took some of my bears with me, but I also slipped in a couple of my half-dolls, including this newly acquired German one made by Dressel Kister & Cie.
This beautiful half-doll is from the “Court Beauties” series made by Dressel Kister & Cie — a line of aristocratic half‑dolls inspired by portraits of Eighteenth Century pre-revolutionary French women of the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Featuring Dressel Kister & Cie's blue bishop’s staff mark on the inside of her mould towards the base, this half-doll was made around 1918 and is extremely rare, especially with no damage to her hands, or the Dresden style moulded roses in her floral coronet, or the rose held in her right hand, all of which have individually made petals. She is one of the most refined examples of Dressel Kister & Cie’s Rococo revival artistry. The sculpt’s serene expression, powdered coiffure, careful painting and delicate roses are hallmarks of Dressel Kister & Cie’s high‑end production. She is unmarked with her mould number, but this is not unusual in larger moulds made specifically for the export market, sold through foreign distributors in the United Kingdom, France and America.
Collectors often link this sculpt to the Princess de Lamballe, confidante of Marie Antoinette. Whilst Dressel Kister & Cie never officially named their moulds after historical figures, the resemblance is deliberate. The hairstyle mirrors Marie-Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe’s portraits by female portraitist Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Though not a literal portrait. Dressel Kister & Cie’s sculptors drew on that imagery to capture the romantic elegance of Versailles. The rose garland and gentle expression evoke the same Rococo ideal of purity and grace.
The "half-doll" is a dainty porcelain or bisque figurine, fashionable in the early Twentieth Century with an upper body, head, arms, but no legs. These dolls were produced in the thousands at the height of their popularity by German factories such as Dressel Kister & Cie, Heubach, Goebel and Kestner. Later they were produced in France, America and later still, in Japan. They commonly served as handles and toppers for fabric covers made for powder boxes on ladies’ dressing tables and small brushes, however they were also made for jewellery boxes, pincushions, tea cosies and other covers. In this case, my four and three quarter inch high half-doll (one of the larger in my collection) is part of Dressel Kister & Cie's luxury line, and was made for either a jewellery case, a powder puff, a large pin cushion or a boudoir lamp.
Dressel Kister were one of the most important German porcelain manufacturers of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, best known today for their exquisitely modelled figurines and half‑dolls. Their history spans both Thuringia and Passau, and the name appears in several related factory phases. Dressel Kister began as a Thuringian porcelain works in the mid‑1800s, producing pipe bowls, doll heads, and eventually high‑quality figurines. By the early Twentieth Century, the Passau branch (Dressel, Kister & Cie.) became especially known for luxury figurines and half‑dolls, many of which are highly collectible today. The early factory in Scheibe‑Alsbach, Thuringia was active under the name Dressel, Kister & Co. from 1844 to 1863, producing small porcelain items and later expanding into figures. A later branch, Dressel, Kister & Cie. in Passau, was established after three businessmen purchased a factory in 1853. This branch produced high‑quality figurines and half‑dolls, exporting worldwide. The business thrived, making half‑dolls (including exotic themes like parrots, dancers, and ladies with animals) and high‑quality figurines inspired by Meissen and Höchst traditions, all with finely painted faces, delicate modeling, and elegant poses. When the Great Depression hit, Dressel, Kister & Cie suffered as so many people no longer had money spare to buy their luxury porcelain items, and the Passau factory finally bankrupt in 1936, and was absorbed into the Volkstedter porcelain group.
Export pieces, often unmarked or marked only with mould numbers until the Great Depression.