porcelain, polychrome on-glaze painting; professionally restored, the base slightly chipped; incised monogram HM in the lower section on the back, with underglaze blue workshop signet underneath; height: 99.3 cm, depth: c 30 cm, width: c 52 cm. The present dragon figure is one of five known dragons made for the “Porcelain Palace” in Leipzig in around 1920. Two of them are part of the permanent collection of the Hetjens Museum in Düsseldorf, one “Lucky Dragon” is in Japanese private ownership. A further dragon is likewise in private ownership.
The Volkstedter Manufaktur experienced an economic and artistic boom in the early 20th century. In 1921, the former Royal Palace was converted and refurbished as the first fair centre of the Leipzig Fair for the presentation of the Aelteste Volkstedter Porzellanmanufaktur and its branches as well as other companies, including Hutschenreuter. The Berlin architect Hans Poelzig and his later wife Marlene Moeschke were commissioned to design the interior decoration. Within this stylistic framework, Hugo Meisel and Arthur Storch produced a series of at least 16 large-format animal figures to decorate the rooms of the “Porcelain Palace”.
The idiosyncratic shapes of the objects are characterised by highly dynamic body movements and contours and the careful execution of their details. Besides the “Good Times” figure, a dragon for “Bad Times” was also executed, along with a “Caveman”, a “Hell Hound” and other animals. The most interesting among them are those that include human qualities and features, just list the present, rare “Lucky Dragon”. (MP)

Compare:
inter alia, Hetjens-Museum, Düsseldorf, Permanent Collection, Arthur Storch and Hugo Meisel.