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Carrara marble. Signed on reverse: “J. Bradáček/ 66”. This enchanting small sculpture is the work of a sculptor who was also a successful typographer and lecturer. Jiří Bradáček studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design under Professor Karel Dvořák, and was a member of the Krok 57 (Step 57) art group. Early in his career he was influenced by the Cubism and Social Civilism of Otto Gutfreund and by Emil Filla's sculptures. Initially he worked at the Royal Dux porcelain factory in Duchcov, where he designed small objects. In 1958 his porcelain sculptures “Giraffe” and “TV Crew” earned enormous success and were selected for the Czechoslovak exhibit at Expo 58 in Brussels. From 1967 he was an associate professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he led the applied sculpture studio. His students included Čestmír Suška, Magdalena Jetelová, Martin Zet and Michal Gabriel. He also created a number of free-standing and decorative sculptures for the northern Bohemian cities of Děčín, Most, Teplice and Ústí nad Labem.