An early 20th century metamorphic patinated and gilt bronze sculpture. A patinated figure of a young man holds a spade atop of a mound of earth which opens to reveal a gilt bronze reclining figure of a nude female. The plaque is inscribed ‘The Treasure Seeker' and signed ‘C Kauba’. Stamped ‘Made in Austria’ to the underside.C1910. Carl Kauba was born in Vienna in 1865, the son of a shoemaker. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and was a pupil of Carl Waschmann and Stefan Schwartz. He spent two years in Paris to complete his studies and then travelled to the American West, sketching and modelling Native Americans and other figures. He also produced a series of mechanical push button and metamorphic erotic sculptures which have become collector’s items.