Lot 124

Jan Lichtág (1898 - 1985) A ST. WENCESLAS ANNIVERSARY PLAQUE

The  white bisquit plaque depicts the patron saint of the Czech nation, St. Wenceslas, in honour of whose thousandth anniversary, then falling in 1929, St. Vitus Cathedral was opened after its completion shortly before. The millennium of St. Wenceslas is expressed in the plaque, on which the patron is sung by angels, by mentioning the years 929 and 1929. The masterfully crafted frame with inlaid towers and gilded Art Deco decoration on the sides, into which the relief is inserted, is probably according to a distinctive design by František Kysela. The author, sculptor, ceramist and medallist Jan Lichtág, studied at the ceramics school in Bechyně and at the UMPRUM in Prague under J. Drahoňovský. He worked successively as a modeller and assistant at the ceramics school in Gmünden, Austria, for a year in a French porcelain factory in Sévres, and for a year in factories in Tours, Vierron and Limoges. Together with B. Fuchs, F. Süsser and E. Hrbek, he founded the Workshops of Artistic Ceramics and was the author of a number of medals and plaques. His works are represented in MG Brno, UMP in Prague and many other important Czech galleries.