Bottle lamp base on a large truncated cone heel.

Enamelled ceramic piece with polychrome decor, treated in a constructivist style, on a cracked ivory background.

Circa 1926-1930.

Bears the ISIDA-SOFIA stamp of the manufacturer under the base.

Height without socket: 35.5 cm.

History :

A major artist of the Bulgarian avant-garde, Syrak Skitnik studied at the theological school in Sofia from 1898 to 1902. From 1908 to 1912, he took classes with Léon Bakst at the E. Zvantseva School in St. Petersburg, where his classmate was Marc Chagall (1887-1985). Among other things, he was a writer, poet, painter, art critic, theorist, playwright, set designer, theater set designer, and artistic secretary of the National Theater in Sofia (1923-1924). He also became the first president of the Union of Bulgarian Artists in 1931 and director of Radio Sofia from its creation in 1935 until his death in 1943.

Isida (or Izida) was the first ceramics factory to open in Bulgaria. It was founded in 1894 in Elin Pelin, 25 km from Sofia, and is still in operation today. Initially specializing in architectural and public works ceramics (Sofia public baths, Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia), in 1926 the company launched a line of small-batch artistic porcelain. To this end, it enlisted the help of Bulgarian avant-garde painters such as Syrak Skitnik, who designed several decorative pieces for the factory until the 1930s.