Description: 20th century, Netherlands, Seated cat, bronze figure, signed on the base. Also a foundry mark on the underside. The original cast done in 1927 by Petermann St Gilles Bruxelles. This being a later cast, by Maarten Smit (Brummen). H. 23 cm, J. G. Koster - baronesse thoe Schwartzenberg en Hohenlansberg (1891 - 1993) was born the daughter of a Frisian nobleman who owned an estate in Silezia. For most of her youth, Bertha lived with an aunt in Hilversum who stimulated her interest in sculpture. From 1908 onwards, she started taking lessons from Joseph Mendes da Costa and attending lectures of art pedagogue H. P. Bremmer, who also gave her directions for her own work. Bertha thoe Schwartzenberg limited herself mostly to small animal sculpture, portraits and figures which show the influence of Mendes da Costa. Although her talent as a sculptor was widely acknowledged, she never did much to promote or sell her works, as was considered appropriate in those days for a woman of her background. ,