Vladimir Lenin bronze bust by sculptor Sergei Merkurov

Original bronze bust of Lenin, done by well-known sculptor Sergei Merkurov. Bust measures 24.25″ tall, 15.5″ wide, and 12″ deep, and weighs approximately 150 pounds, and was cast from metal taken from church bells. This particular statue was made at the Gosizdat factory in Moscow in 1926, a short time after Lenin’s death, and approved by the Central Committee of the USSR. Impressed on the reverse of the bust, in Russian, is “GIZ Factory Moscow 1926, No. 17,” indicating it was cast in 1926 at the State Publishing House Factory based on Model 17. In fine condition, with an untouched patina. Accompanied by a translated expert conclusion from Victor Kuznetsoff at the State Historical Museum in Russia, as well as an original description in Russian from the original owner of the bust, a Russian expatriate.

Sergei Merkurov (1881-1952), was a renowned sculptor and monumentalist, whose works include the three largest Stalin monuments in the country, as well as the larger statue of Lenin which resided for decades in Red Square. This impressive bust was made from church bells (bronze with silver added) removed during the Bolshevik’s anti-religious campaign in 1922, which saw the destruction of thousands of churches and the deaths of tens of thousands of citizens. A very rare relic from the former communist country, where their leaders were idolized in impressive fashion. Oversized. RR Auction COA.

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