Demi-Monde Dommes

The Riding Crop [credited to slave michael]

Little is known about the Austrian sculptor, Bruno Zach, or Zack (1891 – 1945) other than he flourished as an artist in Berlin in the period between the two wars. After studying in the Vienna Academy and training in a number of the city’s foundries, he began sculpting under the trade name “Tuch”.

He soon developed a reputation as a prolific creator of Art Deco figures that ranged from the sensual to the blatantly erotic. He particularly revelled in the creation of kinky bronze and ivory statues of strong independent and domineering Women from the ‘demi-monde’ of Berlin’s nightlife. They were often depicted in assertive stances that implied a readiness for play, but strictly on their terms.

Perhaps his most famous creation was a 1930 bronze statue called The Riding Crop, which made a world record price of £97,250 for the artist at auction at Bonhams Design. This striking piece reveals a girl with the trademark Zach face and hair style, dressed in an off-the-shoulder negligee, stockings and high heels, and holding a riding crop behind her back.

Stolen Hearts

Another renowned work was his piece, Stolen Hearts, which Zach sculpted in honour of a Lady friend of his who had turned down his proposal of marriage.