Featured Russian Bronze Bust..Figure & Foundry Mark ID Help??

Any help appreciated...7" Tall

 

Catherine the Great.

I keep finding this one (at the moment being offered on eBay for about $73 US by a seller in the Ukraine) but not yours.

 

Just had another look at the bottom. I don't read Russian, but think maybe it says Hermitage? Museum reproduction?

 

Thanks Bronwen...Mine is cast bronze...At first I thought it was a man??...Your pic,makes me think it could be a woman??...Katherine II ???

 

See the very first thing I wrote, above the picture.

If nothing else, it is most definitely a woman.

 

Yep...It is a woman...Catherine...Are you saying that the one I have posted or the picture,you show,is marked,as a museum reproduction??

 

The one from eBay is obviously a reproduction - they are all over the place. I can't find one to match yours (a very young idealized Catherine). I assume that the Hermitage is like the Metropolitan Museum of Art & other large institutions in selling reproductions. They are careful to mark them to make sure they are not mistaken for originals. Things from the met say MMA; your piece says Hermitage. The original is probably at least 3 times larger.

 

Thank you very much,for this information...Now,that I know it is a Hermitage Mark...I will ask for help & do further research,to find other similar reproduction bronzes

 

Thanks, Bronwen, for thinking of me.
Unfortunately, I am not an expert in Russian bronze. What I could find is the following information: the most famous bust of Catherine the Great was made by Fedot Shubin in 1791 in marble. It was reproduced many times, including in bronze, like in the photo loaded by Bronwen. Moreover, at present there is mass production of bronze busts of Catherine the Great in different variations. So, it is definetely the bust of Catherine the Great.
What I do not understand is the mark on the bottom which really says HERMITAGE. Most items from the Hermitage collection have the mark of their producers, not the museum. On the other hand, the museum might put its mark on copies they would sell in their gift shop. I've checked the internet gift shop of Hermitage, they do not have such (or similar) busts for sale.
So, I do not know how to explain this mark.
Anyway, the bust looks pretty well done, not as cheap as mass production
Above is the marble bust from the Hermitage collection
Also, FYI...... recently Hermitage started using special invisible mark to protect their collection from fraud.