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Lot Essay
This rare porcelain figure was designed by Natalia Danko to commemorate a famous Soviet polar expedition, led by Ivan Papanin (1894-1986). In 1937 the Soviet Union was actively exploring its Arctic coast. A polar station was opened on a drifting ice floe, allowing for a wide range of scientific observations.
Ivan Papanin and his team of scientists spent 274 days drifting on a 30 m² ice block all the way from the North Pole to the edge of the Arctic until they were rescued by two icebreakers in February 1938. Ivan Papanin’s crew, officially called the North Pole-1 Station, carried out extensive research in the Arctic area. Upon their return, all members of the expedition received the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’.
The Papanin expedition received a lot of attention as a prominent Soviet achievement. Natalia Danko, who at that time was mostly working on Soviet propaganda porcelain, was asked to design a special model featuring the polar explorers. The figure is marked with a special factory mark designed to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Revolution.
For comparative models, see V. Levshenkov, Tvorchestvo Sester Danko, St Petersburg, 2012, pp. 352-353, illustrated, also see E. Sametskaya, Sovetskii Agitatsionyi Farfor, Moscow, 2004, p. 175, no. 49 [56], and Exhibition Catalogue, Oda k Radosti, Moscow, 2008, p. 165, no. 101. A similar model is held in the collection of Kuskovo Palace, Moscow.
Ivan Papanin and his team of scientists spent 274 days drifting on a 30 m² ice block all the way from the North Pole to the edge of the Arctic until they were rescued by two icebreakers in February 1938. Ivan Papanin’s crew, officially called the North Pole-1 Station, carried out extensive research in the Arctic area. Upon their return, all members of the expedition received the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’.
The Papanin expedition received a lot of attention as a prominent Soviet achievement. Natalia Danko, who at that time was mostly working on Soviet propaganda porcelain, was asked to design a special model featuring the polar explorers. The figure is marked with a special factory mark designed to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Revolution.
For comparative models, see V. Levshenkov, Tvorchestvo Sester Danko, St Petersburg, 2012, pp. 352-353, illustrated, also see E. Sametskaya, Sovetskii Agitatsionyi Farfor, Moscow, 2004, p. 175, no. 49 [56], and Exhibition Catalogue, Oda k Radosti, Moscow, 2008, p. 165, no. 101. A similar model is held in the collection of Kuskovo Palace, Moscow.