after Nathaniel Sichel of a Classical beauty leaning sensuously against a fluted column with a wall and temple behind her, one hand resting on her head, the other, adorned with a gold snake armlet above the wrist, holding back some of her long black hair from diaphanously veiled breasts above a gold buckle and a rich red shawl wrapped around her midriff, signed lower right 'F. Schier / München 1994, the reverse inscribed 'Nach Sichel / Franz Schier. München 1894', also impressed '386', 30 x 21.7cm

Franz Schier (1852-1922) was based in Munich, painting in a variety of media, but especially known for his finely painted porcelain plaques. For a Berlin (KPM) plaque painted by Schier sold in these rooms, see 23 November 2016, lot 17.

Nathaniel Sichel (1843-1907) was born in Mainz. He trained at the Munich Academy from 1859 to 1862, followed by the Paris Academy, winning the coveted Prix de Rome in 1864. He established a highly successful studio in Berlin, gaining a great reputation for his uniquely seductive female figures, often Orientalist in theme, sometimes termed 'Sichel's beauties'.