Ludwig Manzel (1858 Kagendorf-1936 Berlin), Allegorical figure of Sedina

patinated bronze, height 49.5 cm
On the base the mark of the Berlin foundry company: AKT. GES. GLADENBECK

Miniature of a fragment of a sculpture from a fountain in Szczecin depicting Sedina, a figure of a mythical woman who is an allegory of Szczecin as a city of trade, shipping and industry.

In May 1894, the Prussian art commission announced the result of a competition for a monumental fountain for Szczecin. A figural composition by Berlin Academy of Art professor Ludwig Manzl was chosen. The main element of the structure he created is a portrait of a young woman, called Sedina, dressed in long, loose robes, who supports herself with her right hand against an anchor, while her left hand supports a boom with a sail resting on her left side. The fountain was unveiled on September 23, 1898, in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Manzl's design, for which the artist received a gold medal and an honorary award from the city of Berlin, was extremely popular. The composition was distributed in prints and postcards. Between 1896 and 1898, the Berlin casting company Gladenbeck made miniaturized replicas of it, one of which is presented at auction.