The Wave’s Only Kiss

This biscuit porcelain sculpture made in the porcelain factory of St. Petersburg in 1905 belongs to Adamson’s maritime series. The number of casts is not known. 

Adamson’s maritime works are dominated by dramatic or even tragic themes that are intertwined with lyricism. Most of his sculptures that depict sea-related topics also depict a naked female body and exude a certain dreaminess and melancholia.

There are versions of the sculpture at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. A version that had been on display in the Museum of Riga in Latvia was acquired by the Art Museum of Estonia in 1979.

There is a stamp of the porcelain factory on the inside of this sculpture, proving that the cast was made in St. Petersburg. There are also newer versions of the sculpture without a recess in the bottom: these were probably made later, presumably using moulds that remained in Russia.