Goldscheider Vienna Alabaster Bust, Girl c.1907, Model 3542, Attr. Lavergne For Sale

Goldscheider Vienna Alabaster Bust, Girl c.1907, Model 3542, Attr. LavergneSigned, Goldscheider Medallion, Dechant Attribution
Description...Offered here is a genuine Friedrich Goldscheider factory alabaster bust of a young girl, circa 1907, model number 3542, edition 40, with a sculptor's signature incised into the alabaster consistent with the hand of French sculptor Adolphe-Jean Lavergne (1863-1928).
The bust is mounted on its original black marble base, which carries the brass Friedrich Goldscheider / Paris / Wien / Leipzig medallion with the double-headed Austrian imperial eagle.
This is the factory's export-era mark and confirms the piece as a genuine Goldscheider manufactory product rather than a later reproduction.
The Lavergne attribution is supported by two independent points of evidence:
First, written correspondence from Filipp Goldscheider, co-author of the Dechant Werkverzeichnis Wiener Manufaktur Friedrich Goldscheider and a descendant of the Goldscheider family, identified the signature as consistent with Lavergne's known hand and confirmed no other sculptor candidate appears in the Goldscheider family database for this type of work.
Second, the signature was compared in person against two facsimile signatures reproduced in the Lavergne sculptor entry of the Dechant Werkverzeichnis at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. The cursive lead character and letterform progression are consistent across the bust and both catalogue facsimiles.
Lavergne is a documented Goldscheider sculptor of this exact period, with adjacent catalogued model numbers (3763 and 3766) placing him as an active contributor in stone and ceramic media directly surrounding model 3542.
Model 3542 itself does not appear as a discrete entry in either the Dechant Werkverzeichnis or the Ora Pinhas Goldscheider: A Catalogue of Selected Models (Richard Dennis Publications, 2006), which is not unusual given the factory produced over 12,000 documented models.
The attribution is presented honestly as supported by written expert correspondence and in-person signature comparison, but not individually catalogue-confirmed by model number.
This is a smaller-format piece within the Goldscheider alabaster girl-bust line, standing approximately 6 inches high, 7 inches at the widest point of the base.
Buyers should note this against larger comparable examples before offerding.
Condition:Used, good antique condition commensurate with age. The alabaster surface is clean and cream toned with no chips to the face, bonnet, or hair. A hairline crack is present in the torso/shoulder area, visible under direct examination but not prominent in normal display. Mineral bloom (surface crystallization consistent with past moisture exposure) is present on the base perimeter. The brass Goldscheider medallion is intact and fully legible. The base has two recessed mounting points, and only one carries a medallion insert; the second mount shows hardware but no insert. All condition issues are shown in photographs and reflected in the asking price.
Returns accepted if the item arrives not as described. Buyer covers return shipping unless the item is materially different from the listing. Please review all photos closely, as they are considered part of the condition description.