Erotic Bronze Oriental Dancer

On a marble base, an articulated gilt bronze sculpture depicting an oriental dancer whose skirt rises like a graceful veil above her head, revealing her nudity. Austria, circa 1900, by Franz Bergmann aka Nam Greb. Unsigned. Very good state. Total height 20 cm. Height of the bronze 15 cm. Franz Xaver Bergmann (or Franz Xaver Bergman) (July 27, 1861 - 1936) was the owner of a Viennese foundry which produced many oriental, erotic and animal figures in patinated and cold painted bronze, the latter often being humanized or fanciful, humorous art objects. His father, Franz Bergmann (September 26, 1838 - 1894), was a professional hunter from Gablonz who came to Vienna and founded a small bronze factory in 1860. Franz Xaver Bergmann inherited the company and opened a new foundry in 1900. Many bronzes from the 1900s were still based on designs from his father's studio. Bergmann is often mistakenly described as a sculptor, but he was not; he owned a foundry. Its workshops employed, on a temporary basis, many anonymous sculptors. Bruno Zach employed Bergmann to edit and cast some of his works, with some of the more erotic ones being signed as "Prof. Tuch", a pseudonym used by Zach. At the turn of the 19th century, there were around fifty workshops producing Viennese bronzes. The sensual poses of young women in the Art Nouveau style were disguised by a blanket that revealed everything when a button was pushed or a lever moved. Often, carefully carved animals, such as bears, could be opened to reveal an erotic figure inside. The Bergmann Foundry was closed in 1930 due to the Great Depression. It was reopened a few years later by Robert Bergmann, son of Franz, and operated until his death in 1954 when the remaining stock and molds were sold to Karl Fuhrmann & Co.