Josef Lorenzl was an Austrian sculptor renowned for his Art Deco creations during the early 20th century. Born in 1892 in Vienna, Lorenzl displayed exceptional talent and artistic sensibilities from a young age. He specialised in bronze and ivory sculptures, often depicting graceful and elegant female figures in dynamic poses. His works exude a sense of movement, capturing the spirit of the Jazz Age. Lorenzl's sculptures were highly sought after, and he became a prominent figure in the Viennese art scene. Today, his sculptures are considered valuable collector's items and are admired for their exquisite craftsmanship and timeless beauty. Josef Lorenzl's legacy endures as a testament to his mastery of Art Deco aesthetics.
Lorenzl's career began with an apprenticeship as a metalworker, where he honed his technical skills and developed a deep understanding of the medium. His passion for sculpture emerged as he started experimenting with different materials, including bronze, ivory, and ceramics. In the 1920s, he found his artistic voice in the emerging Art Deco movement, which emphasized geometric forms, bold lines, and a celebration of modernity.
One of Lorenzl's notable achievements was his mastery of the "chryselephantine" technique, a method that combined bronze and ivory. This technique allowed him to create exquisite sculptures that portrayed the human form in a harmonious blend of materials. His figures often depicted elegant and glamorous women, capturing the spirit of the Roaring Twenties and the emancipation of women during that era.
Lorenzl's sculptures exuded sensuality, with elongated and stylised forms that emphasized the beauty and grace of the female figure. He
skilfully incorporated intricate details such as elaborate headdresses, flowing garments, and intricate jewellery, adding to the opulence and allure of his pieces. His work showcased a remarkable balance between realism and stylization, showcasing his technical prowess and artistic vision.
During the peak of his career in the 1920s and 1930s, Lorenzl worked closely with the renowned Austrian ceramic manufacturer Goldscheider. His collaboration with the company resulted in a prolific body of work, with his sculptures being produced both as
standalone pieces and as decorative elements for lamps and vases. These collaborations contributed to the popularity and recognition of Lorenzl's sculptures among collectors and art enthusiasts worldwide.
Lorenzl's sculptures were not limited to the domestic sphere. He also created numerous works that showcased dancers, athletes, and other dynamic figures, capturing the vitality and energy of the modern era. His sculptures exuded
movement and grace, freezing a moment in time and imbuing it with a sense of drama and elegance.
Unfortunately, Lorenzl's career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. With the decline of the Art Deco movement and the onset of a more austere artistic climate, he struggled to regain the same level of success. However, his legacy as an influential sculptor of the Art Deco era remains intact.
Today, Lorenzl's sculptures are highly sought after by collectors, commanding significant prices at auctions and art markets. They can be found in prestigious galleries and private collections worldwide. His work continues to inspire contemporary artists, who are drawn to the timeless beauty and exquisite craftsmanship that define Lorenzl's sculptures.
Josef Lorenzl's contributions to the world of sculpture and the Art Deco
movement are undeniable. Through his chryselephantine sculptures, he immortalised the spirit of an era and created enduring works of art that continue to captivate audiences with their elegance, sensuality, and meticulous craftsmanship. Lorenzl's legacy as a master sculptor lives on, ensuring his place among the most celebrated artists of the 20th century.
]]>Emmanuel Villanis’s Life
Villanis was born to Italian parents in France in 1858. He moved with the family to Piedmont, Italy, in March 1861 after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.
Known in Italy as Villani, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Albertina in Turin from 1871 to 1880 alongside master sculptor Odoardo Tabacchi. When Villanis graduated, he exhibited his first works in cities across Italy, notably his bust ‘Alda’ in Milan in 1881.
Villanis returned to France in 1885, living and working in the Montmartre district of Paris. He didn’t leave Montmartre until his death on August 28th 1914.
Works by Emmanuel Villanis
Villanis specialised in female bronze busts. Many are based on musical subjects such as opera heroines and composers, as well as famous characters from literature and mythology. The women were beautiful and young and often looked thoughtful, detached and melancholy. They displayed harmonious proportions with each having an oval face, hollow eyes, short nose, full lips and long hair.
His subjects are each found in two or three sizes and are made of bronze, pewter or spelter. His busts were cast by the Society des Bronzes de Paris, Bronze Garanti au titre Paris, Vrai Bronze Garanti Paris, E Blot Paris Vrai Bronze and K K Kunst-Erzgiesserei Wien and exported all over the world.
The works of Villanis often feature muti-hued patination, in two or more colours, which is particularly beautiful. They also often feature the title of the piece fairly prominently. During the 19th Century it was vital for a sculptor to exhibit at the Salon des Artistes in order to gain recognition and commissions. Villanis did so 11 times between 1886 and 1910, exhibiting 17 sculptures including the four busts Nerina in 1887, Galatee in 1894, Mignon in 1896 and Judith in 1898. Villanis received an Honourable Mention for the two maquette statues he presented in 1892.
Buying Villanis Antiques with Confidence
As with most sculptures of note, there are many reproductions on the market that one should be wary of. You can rule out the more obvious recasts by checking the quality of the piece, as the authentic pieces are incredibly well made. As with any valuable item do ensure that you acquire Villanis's work from a trusted source.
There were of course no “cold castings” around 1900. If the piece does not have a stamp, it may still be authentic. If it does have a stamp and it was cast by the Society de Bronze de Paris, the medallion stamp will be made separately of another material, it will appear clear and sharp like a coin and will have been fitted in after the foundation process. Pieces cast at the other four foundries will have the mark embossed into the bronze.
There are many marble sculptures signed E.Villanis on the market, nearly all of them made by craftsmen from a model, but its tricky to tell when they were made and whether they were made with his authorisation or not.
You can also check whether your sculpture is documented in the catalogue raissonné 'Emmanuel Villanis' by Josje Hortulanus-de Mik.
For a full selection of Villanis sculpture we currently have available please click here.
]]>His animal sculptures are usually of a violent nature, his models are incredibly technically competent, based on the studies of wild animals, both living and dead, at the Jardin de Plantes. Barye’s talent for rendering dynamic tension and exact anatomical detail is especially evident in his most famous bronzes, those of wild animals struggling with or devouring their prey, as seen here in “Panthère Surprenant un Zibeth”.
Barye’s animal subjects, with their complex narratives and incredible stylistic realism, triggered an important debate on the threshold between fine and decorative art at the time. He first exhibited his bronzes at the Paris Salon of 1827, but withdrew from exhibiting in the Salon after his work was rejected as goldsmithery (not “high art”), a point that angered to a declare he would never return, but fortunately for us he did, to great acclaim in 1850.
He was a master of anatomical form, whether human or animal. His example and success enhanced the modest reputation of animal and small-scale sculpture as "fine art" during the nineteenth century.
He was appointed Professor of Drawings at the Museum of Natural History in 1854, a post he held until his death. It was during the later part of his life that Barye was given the many honors and awards. In 1867 at the age of 71, he was awarded the Grand Medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris for his works. He was elevated to the rank of Officer in the Legion d'Honneur, was named the first president of the Central Union of Beaux Arts and was appointed a Member of the Institute of France.
Barye produced no new works after 1869. Following his death in 1875 most of his plasters and models were purchased by Ferdinand Barbedienne, the famous founder whose had earlier reproduced Barye’s works during his bankruptcy. Barbedienne continued casting bronzes from Barye's original master models until after the turn of the century. All of these later, posthumous, casts are marked F. Barbedienne Founder.
Today, most of Barye's plasters and models are the property of the Louvre. The sheer scale of notable works left by Barye entitles him to be regarded as one of the great Romantic sculptors of the time. He died in Paris in 1875, and after an elaborate funeral to signal his high artistic stature, Barye was buried at Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
Art Deco sculptures have a timeless allure that continues to captivate audiences today. These striking works of art, which emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, are characterised by their geometric shapes, sleek lines, and bold use of colour and materials.
One of the most distinctive features of Art Deco sculptures is their use of materials. Bronze, marble, and ivory were popular choices, but artists also incorporated more unusual materials such as terracotta, spelter, and even chrome. This experimentation with materials gave Art Deco sculptures a futuristic and daring quality that was unlike anything that had come before.
Another key feature of Art Deco sculptures is their focus on the human form. Artists of the period were fascinated with the human body, and they used their sculptures to explore its contours and curves. Figures were often elongated and stylized, with exaggerated features and dramatic poses that conveyed a sense of energy and movement.
One of the most famous examples of an Art Deco sculpture is the “Egyptian Dancer” by Demetre Chiparus, a stunning and iconic Work of Art from the early 20th century. This magnificent sculpture is made of cold painted gilt and enamelled bronze, depicting an attractive female dancer in a stretched pose wearing a scant Egyptian costume, with exceptional attention to detail. The sculpture is raised and signed on a sleek portico marble plinth, which adds to its luxurious feel, and features a frontis plaque with further artist's signature, confirming its authenticity and provenance.
What sets the Egyptian Dancer apart from other Art Deco sculptures of its time is the way Chiparus captures the energy and fluidity of dance in his piece. The dancer's pose, with arms extended above her head is both graceful and dynamic, creating a sense of motion that draws the viewer in. Additionally, the dancer's costume is a work of art in itself, with intricate details and bold colors that reflect the fascination with all things Egyptian that had come to the fore in the 1920s.
The Egyptian Dancer is a true masterpiece that has stood the test of time. It remains as captivating and alluring today as it did when it was first created in 1925. The sculpture's size, at 73cm in height, is also impressive, adding to its impact as a statement piece that commands attention in any room; a true testament to the beauty and elegance of this fascinating era. For those who appreciate the beauty of Art Deco, this piece is an iconic example, and its place in art history is well-deserved.
Another notable Art Deco sculptor from this period is Josef Lorenzl. His sculptures often depicted graceful, glamorous women in the Art Deco style. Lorenzl’s characteristic manner of lengthening the limbs of his subjects imbued them with a sense of elegance and animation which is perfectly captured in his “Scarf Dancer” - an unusually large sculpture of a sleek dancer holding the end of her scarf/shawl with one leg extended as in a ‘frozen moment in time’. The figure is 49 cm tall, raised on a tall green onyx base that adds to its importance and is fully signed with the artist’s signature.
Despite the passage of time, Art Deco sculptures remain as compelling as ever. Their sleek, modernist designs and innovative use of materials continue to inspire contemporary artists, while their celebration of the human form and the beauty of everyday objects resonates with viewers around the world. Whether adorning the walls of a museum or gracing the mantelpiece of a collector, Art Deco sculptures will always hold a special place in the world of art.
]]>Franz Xavier Bergman, 1861 – 1936, is the most famous of the Viennese ‘cold painted bronze’ artists. Recognised for his great attention to detail and use of wonderfully vibrant colours, works from Bergman’s foundry are highly prized today by collectors worldwide.
]]>History
Franz Bergman senior was born in Gablonz, Northern Bohemia, where he worked as a metalwork chaser and finisher. In 1860 he came to Vienna and founded a small bronze factory. At the turn of the Century his son, Franz Xavier Bergman, inherited the company and opened a new foundry, basing many of his early bronzes on designs from his father’s workshop.
Style
The Franz Xavier Bergman foundry produced an eclectic mix of Oriental, erotic and animal figure bronzes.
Bergman used a cold painted technique, whereby cast bronzes were decorated in several layers of polychrome ‘dust paint.’ These layers were not fired to fix them to the bronzes, hence they are ‘cold painted.’ Sadly the knowledge of this technique, particularly of how to mix the paint, has since been lost.
He has also created many sensuous poses of young women in the Art Nouveau style. The women are disguised by a covering, but they reveal all when a button is pushed or a lever moved.Bergman’s animal figures are often humanised or whimsical, humorous objects d’art, which adds to their popularity. Often, carefully sculpted animals such as bears could be opened to reveal an erotic figure inside.
Bronzes cast in the Bergman foundry are normally stamped with a capital ‘B’ that is placed in a twin handled vase. They are also often inscribed ‘Geschutzt’ which refers to the model/design being ‘registered’ or copyrighted.
How to Spot a Bergman
As an artist Bergman himself also had a distinctive signature; ‘Nam Greb’ which reads Bergman in reverse. It is said that he used this mark as a ‘nom de plume’ when the subjects of his work were subtly erotic and not to the taste of his more conservative clients or family.
As with all antiques, value is affected by condition. Be aware that the cold painted decoration of Bergman pieces is relatively easy to damage, and any worn enamel will reduce value considerably.
Value
Bergman bronzes in good condition can fetch thousands, so it is well worth keeping your eyes peeled for them. There are however plenty of fakes about, particularly on eBay, so we would advise against purchasing Bergman pieces from anyone but a reputable dealer.
Where to find them
We have an extensive collection of Bergman pieces in our Portobello gallery, which you may also view on this website
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As the movement rapidly gained enthusiasts throughout Europe and beyond, Art Nouveau first appeared in a wide variety of forms, yet the roots of the style can be traced back to the Arts and Crafts Movement in England during the second half of the 19th century. Arts and Crafts was often seen as a response to growing industrialisation and a decline in traditional crafts at that time. The English designer and socialist William Morris (1834-1896) came to be the movements defining figure, rejecting the dehumanising aspects of the industrial world, looking instead to nature. Morris’s ideals of craftsmanship, and his use of stylised organic forms, resonated with many Art Nouveau artists who sought to integrate art with the everyday by producing beautiful objects to elevate people's lives.
From the outset, artists working in the Art Nouveau style advocated the unity of all the arts and argued against discrimination between ‘fine art’ and the so-called lesser, ‘decorative arts’. Art Nouveau was aimed at modernising design, seeking to escape the academic styles that had previously been popular. It was a universal style intended to unify the arts to create a ‘gesamtkunstwerk’, a total work of art where every element worked harmony - an idea typified by the designs of the Paris metro in the early 1900’s (see above). Artists drew inspiration from both organic and geometric forms, evolving elegant designs that united flowing and natural shapes with an emphasis on form over colour.
As the values of the Art Nouveau style took hold of the world, previous boundaries between fine art and decorative art became blurred and suddenly functional design began to take the status of fine art. One of the styles most famous producers was the glass maker Johann Loetz, who became renowned for his innovative surface technique known as 'marmorisierte' - a style of marbled glass which gives the appearance of shimmering water. His works, such as this 'Papillon Vase' seen above, are an example of how the artists of the Art Nouveau brought the sublime of nature into the realm of man. As with the Arts and Crafts movement, the Art Nouveau style believed that aesthetic values should be combined with high standards of craftsmanship, and that works of art should be both beautiful and functional, a wonderful example of which can be seen right in Auguste Moreau’s ‘Putto Vases’.
Through its own success, the Art Nouveau movement abolished the beliefs of the academic system, which had underpinned the widespread idea that media such as painting and sculpture were superior to any craftwork. Through the revolutionary designs they brought to the masses, the artists of the Art Nouveau movement defined the cultural values of the early 20th century. In the process, Art Nouveau redefined the relationship between the fine and decorative arts crafts paving the way for the contemporary world of design we inhabit today.
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The Early years
Very little is known about Johann Loetz, the man who gave his name to the glassworks, aside from the fact that he was born in Austria and founded the Loetz glassworks in 1840 in Klostermühle, Bohemia, an area in what is now the Czech Republic.
History of Loetz Glassworks
The Loetz glassworks was made up of several other acquired companies; the glassworks of Goldbrunn (acquired in 1824) and Annatal near Bergreichenstein (acquired in 1838.)
When Johann Loetz died in 1844 he left behind a widow, Susanne, who came into ownership of the glassworks around 1851 and renamed it Johann Loetz Witwe (Witwe is German for widow). She enjoyed considerable success over the following two decades, producing crystal and painted glass amongst other things.
In 1879 the glassworks were taken over by Max Ritter von Spaun, Susanne’s grandson. He brought in Eduard Prochaska, a technical specialist who was instrumental in modernising the glassworks and installing two Sibert gas furnaces with eleven melting pots each. This development meant that by 1889 Loetz was established as one of the leading glassmakers in the region.
Von Spaun died in 1908 and in 1909 von Spaun’s son, Maximilian Robert, took over. Things went downhill and bankruptcy was declared in 1911. The factory was still able to operate, but in 1914 there was a huge fire and of course the start of the First World War.
After the war, the popularity of coloured opal glass offered a glimmer of hope, but the glassworks was not well funded so they resorted to producing dated and low-quality cameo glass and animals.
The depression of the 1920’s and two further fires meant that by 1939 the company was really running out of money. After the Second World War they found themselves behind the Iron Curtain, Loetz was nationalised and in 1947 they closed for good.
Style
Loetz were pioneers of the surface technique known as Marmorisierte. This style of marbled glass gave the appearance of imitating various semi-precious stones in the surfaces of bowls and vases. This style won Loetz awards at the Paris World’s Exposition in 1889. At the same time their Octopus pieces, white curlicue lines, over a darker, mottled surface came about.
Their Phänomen series of designs are perhaps some of their most well known, the main characteristics being the rippled or featherlike designs that can be seen on the surface of the glass. This effect was achieved using very hot molten glass and wrapping hot glass threads around a hot base. Pulling the threads on the surface created waves and many other designs. All of this work was completed whilst the glass was still pliable. In 1898 Loetz patented the Phänomen technique.
At the end of the Art Nouveau era Loetz produced their Tango series, two-toned pieces created in single colours with simple surfaces and contrasting lip wraps or handles. Michael Powolny created some of their best Tangos.
Where can you find Loetz Glasswork
We have a variety of Loetz glassware available at our Portobello Road gallery. The collection can be seen online here, or in person by appointment.
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Bruno Zach was a Ukrainian-born Austrian sculptor best known for his bronze and ivory Art Deco sculpture. Born on May 6, 1891 in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, Zach studied under Hans Bitterlich and Josef Mullner at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. After he left the academy he swiftly moved to Berlin, a city that played a key role in shaping his practice and where he is known to have made some of his most famous works. Zach mainly worked worked between the years 1918 and 1935, rapidly becoming a pioneering and controversial figure of the Art Deco age. His works revelled in the spirit of the time, often featuring erotic subject matter which made Zach’s work so unique - his devotion to the exotic.
Zach reportedly spent much of his life in Berlin and Vienna carousing with prostitutes and at night clubs, where he found both lovers and models for his provocative sculptures. His elegant works capture these dual worlds of his life, the erotic night and the light beauty of innocence, a quality that can be seen beautifully in The Riding Whip, a cold-painted bronze sculpture of young girl pointing a whip tightly in front of her.
He mainly worked in in bronze and ivory, drawing on the symbolism of these materials, such as the light beauty of ivory, the weight of bronze or the lust of gold His bronzes works were generally fired in mid-brown colors but were often cold painted or polychromed, resulting in the vibrant colours we can see today in his works.
Zach became a prolific creator of sculptures featuring tall, athletic, women, while also pursuing more traditional genre subject matter like dancers, mythological creatures, or horseback riders. His styles ranged from art deco, art nouveau, sporting, to orientalism, drawing from a diverse range of themes and subject which resulted in the many worlds we can now see captured across his works.
One of his best known sculptures is the ‘The Riding Crop’, similar to the above ‘Riding Whip’, is an excellent example of his charged erotic subject matter at its height. Original period castings of this sculpture have sold for as much as $151,849, one such sale having taken place at the Bonhams on 23 November 2011. According to Bonhams' director of decorative arts, Mark Oliver, "the demand for his work just grows and grows".
Zach died at the age of 53 on February 20, 1945 in Vienna, Austria. His work was edited by several firms at the time, including Argentor-Werke (Vienna), Broma Companie and S. Altmann Company.
Today, his works are in the collection of the Art Deco Museum in Moscow.
“The authenticity of a thing is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced.” Walter Benjamin 1939
At Hickmet Fine Arts, we have been been privileged to work with some of the most iconic pieces across the Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods. Our knowledge and expertise has been developed across 3 generations in the family, making us one of the most trusted dealers in this area today.
The Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods hold a special focus for us. With their captivating ornate styles and flawless compositions, the pieces in our collection always exemplify the stunning craftsmanship and eye for details these periods are known for.
Art Nouveau emerged during a time of industrialized revolution, its artists reacted against the emergence of mass production, and humanity’s supposed triumph over nature turning instead back to nature for their inspiration — not necessarily nature's beauty, but instead its vital force, its ever-changing life cycle. This idea of an uncontrollable world all around us was mirrored in the Art Nouveau’s fascination with psychology, symbolism and the supernatural.
“That which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art, for the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition.” Walter Benjamin 1939
The Art Deco style on the other hand looked much more to the future and manifested across the spectrum of the visual arts: from architecture, painting, and sculpture to the graphic and decorative arts. Art Deco works are typically symmetrical, geometric, streamlined. Art Deco's pursuit of beauty in all aspects of life was directly reflective of the relative newness and of machine-age technology and the exciting new techniques it allowed artists to use.
At Hickmet Fine Arts the story and craftsmanship behind each of our pieces is as essential as the physical condition of the work itself. If we take ‘La Comete’ for example by Guiraud-Rivière, immediately we see the dynamism and optimism that defined the 1920’s, a period defined by the recent horrors of war and humanities hope and aspiration for a better future through the gifts technology brought at the time. As we look further into the piece we begin to glimpse hidden themes that connect the work to the Art Nouveau thinkers of the time - the female form symbolising creation and birth depicted as the harbinger of this new machine age.
For us this is one of the most exciting aspects in the trade, discovering these hidden stories from ages gone by. Antiques are one of the only records we have of these worlds, and we are constantly discovering new stories that we delight in sharing with our clients. This is what makes each of our pieces so original in its own right, giving it it’s own unique position in history.
“Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence. This includes the changes which it may have suffered in physical condition over the years as well as the various changes in its ownership.” Walter Benjamin 1939
At Hickmet Fine Arts, we believe that when you buy a piece from us, you’re not just buying an object, you’re acquiring a unique piece history.
]]>Bonheur’s popularity and success increased tremendously with the debut of his Animalier sculpture. Sheep and cattle became the main subjects of his models. Bonheur's fascination with cattle and his ability to capture their character but also their anatomical features is superbly demonstrated in his model of a “Taureau Debout” (see right) a large and impressive study of a bull with head raised having excellent hand chased surface detail and rich brown patina. He aptly captured the placid attitude of cows and the aggressive restlessness of bulls. Bonheur was equally adept at modelling sheep, dogs and later in his career, equestrian figures. Two superb models of bulls, exhibited in plaster at the Salon of 1865, were commissioned, on a monumental scale, for the palace of the Sultan of Constantinople.
Bonheur’s best quality sculptures were cast by his brother-in-law, Hippolyte Peyrol, one of the premier founders of the time. The Peyrol casts for both Rosa and Isidore Bonheur are exceptionally well executed, which suggests a strong working relationship between the founder and sculptor. The 'Peyrol' stamp also serves to authenticate a cast made during the lifetime of Bonheur.
There is little doubt that Isidore Bonheur was an acute observer of nature; his animals were not anthropomorphised, but modelled to catch movement or posture characteristic of the particular species. He achieved this most successfully with his sculptures of horses, which are usually depicted as relaxed rather than spirited, and which are among his most renowned works.
]]>Below Emma discusses why she loves using antiques in decoration and details 10 ways she has used antiques to bring soul to a house. A great read if you need some inspiration on using antiques in interior design.
Emma Burns – How You Can Use Antiques in Decoration Today
“I very much like to use antiques both for myself and in the projects I work on for clients. Antique furniture can bring soul to a house in the way a newly made piece does not. I really enjoy scouring antique fairs, shops and markets to find wonderful one off pieces.
1. I enjoy using old chest of drawers as bathroom or cloakroom vanity units. It’s easy to replace the polished wood top with a beautiful honed piece of marble and to set a basin under this. You can use newly made taps, I, however, very much like using reconditioned old brass taps too for the lovely glow they give
2. Antique 18th and 19th Century picture frames are not only a wonderful way of making a lacklustre painting look more expensive, but they can also be made into wonderful looking glasses
3. Antique blue and white plates hung on walls always look sensational, I love the hang in one of the dining rooms at 5 Hertford Street where a mass of small saucers have been hung and scattered like confetti over the painted panelled walls
4. Antique textiles or rugs can make a great top to an ottoman or footstool. The sides upholstered with a plain mohair or linen velvet, or put onto a polished or painted wooden frame
5. Antique pots or vases converted to lamps make much more interesting lights than newly made lamp bases, I like to use old saris and vintage linens as softly gathered shades.
6. Old napkins and tea towels can make wonderful shades, you can use the fringed edges to trim the base of the shades
7. Any polished wood can be painted if you don’t like the tone of the wood, and ebonising a piece can transform it completely
8. Antique saucers where the cup has been broken make excellent soap dishes, ashtrays or a vide poche for a bedside table
9. Miss matched old glasses look fabulous on a dining table
10. Old Oriental runners look marvellous laid to close cover on a staircase, or rugs laid over each other in a patchwork give a fabulous background to a room”
We love these tips as they show how wonderful antiques are for adding interest and personality to your interiors. They also demonstrate that using antiques does not have to be expensive and it is possible to use just a few pieces to transform your space.
Have you used any of the ideas above, or have any tips to add? Do let us know in the comments.
]]>One of the most prominent sculptors of the early Art Nouveau Period, Emmanuel Villanis was born in France on December 12th, 1858 to Italian parents. His mother Anna Lavioso and his father Antoine Villanis who was a lithographer encouraged their son’s creative talent from an early age. When he was 17 Villanis moved to Turin to study at the Accademia Albertina, under the guidance of Odoardo Tabacchi (1831~1905), a noted sculptor of the time. From 1881 until 1885, Villanis contributed to numerous exhibitions in Italy before settling in Paris in 1885 where in 1886 he contributed to the Salon des Artistes Français in the Palms des Champs-Elysées for the first time. For an artist of the nineteenth century it was of the utmost importance to exhibit at the Salon, as it was there that commissions were acquired and reputations made…
Villanis rapidly gained recognition and became known for his small-scale bronze busts, mostly depictions of female subjects, that blended the styles of traditional Neoclassicism with the elegant lines of Art Nouveau. Villanis’s depictions of the female form frequently featured elements of mythology and floral adornments through which he projected the suggestion of eroticism in his designs. His seeming obsession with female subjects, differed from the typical attraction of most artists and collectors of the time, Villanis wanted to immortalise the myth of the feminine in the eyes of the man, the elusive, evocative temptress who had spun so many webs around unwitting fellows; for Villanis women were not just objects of desire, to him they became creatures of heaven immortalised through his hands in bronze forever.
Following his rapid success in Paris, Villanis married Jenne Fournier Pelletier in 1887 to help him gain French naturalisation in order to secure a state commission which would cement his career as one of the great ones of the time. It is noted that their relationship was a distant one, and Villanis would lock himself away in his studio for days without seeing her. On January 30th 1904 his appeal for naturalisation was finally granted. Then in the same year on October 17th, he divorced his wife and six months later entered into a second marriage with young Johanna Maria Magdalena Huinck on 9th May 1904 - see photo below
Johanna had been a secret passion of Villanis for the years during his marriage to Jenne. He frequently drew her and used her as key muse, drawing from her finely woven features. Her face became Villanis's altar of passion and permeated through all his sculptures. Villanis’s relationship with beauty was fundamental throughout his life. It is important when studying his life and work, to consider what beauty was to him. It was this deep passion for beauty and form, combined with his talent as a sculptor that made Villanis unique in his own right. Not only was he able to capture incredible levels of realism in his bronzes, but most fascinating of all, for Villanis each work immortalised the soul of his subject.
“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” ― Kahlil Gibran
Many of his works depict famous heroines from literature and mythology, he was fascinated by the power of the female spirit to captivate the will of men. It was this passion to understand the forces of beauty and the divine that drove his practice, each one of his pieces was part of a deeply personal quest to capture the elusive quality of the divine feminine that held such provenance for him. It is this intimate love, almost religious in its worship of beauty that gave the subject of Villanis’s works such vitality and power, they exist with us as immortalised moments in time
- un moment donné.
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” Confucius
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History of Erté
Erté (short for the French pronunciation of initials R and T) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on 23 November 1892. His father was an admiral in the Imperial Fleet, and his privileged upbringing allowed him access to an array of art and culture. He was particularly fascinated by a set of Persian miniatures found in his father’s library, and their bright colours and patterned designs would influence his work throughout his life.
Erté’s Artistic Career
At the age of 18, Erté moved to Paris in order to pursue a career in the art world. He began a long term working relationship with Harper’s Bazaar in 1915, for which he would go on to create more than 240 magazine covers over the span of 22 years. His elaborate fashion designs appeared in the pages of many different magazines (including Vogue), and his work would go on to define the look and feel of the 1920s.
Throughout the 20s, Erté was a prolific costume designer, creating original fashions and costumes for some of the most famous actresses of the era. Norma Shearer, Anna Pavlova, Marion Davies, Lillian Gish and Joan Crawford all wore his designs on stage and screen.
In 1925, Erté moved to Hollywood at the behest of Louis B. Mayer. He was meant to design the costumes and sets for a silent film entitled Paris, but delays with the script meant that he had a lot of free time to work on other classics. During this period he designed sets and costumes for The Mystic, Ben Hur, The Comedian and Dance Madness. He also costumed many stage productions, including shows at Les Folies-Bergères, George White’s Scandals, New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the Paris Opera and the Casino de Paris.
Erté was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the 1940s and 50s, but in the 1960s he began a renewed period of productivity. From this period, his most famous work is Symphony in Black, a stylised piece that depicts an angular woman clad in elaborate black garments and a headdress, holding a black greyhound dog on a lead.
Erté Sculptures
His earlier Art Deco works were in high demand, and Erté responded to this by creating a series of bronze sculptures in 1980, at age 88! These pieces embody and capture the spirit and design ethos of Art Deco, but they were created long after the Art Deco period ended, which tends to unnerve all but the most knowledgeable collectors.
It is important to note they are not merely ‘copies’ of the earlier era – they are important works by a pioneer of the original style. He transferred his own original drawings and designs into another medium – his highly sought after sculptures. This era of sculpture continues an important artistic conversation began decades earlier, and they are a deeply interesting and meaningful part of the Art Deco timeline and of Erté’s portfolio.
Romain de Tirtoff’s Sculptural Style
Erté’s passion was fashion, and he loved to see his designs come to life, so when he switched to the medium of bronze, his focus was on the costumes rather than the people wearing it, so you will note his sculptures tend to have fairly plain faces that are not the focus.
In his sculpture Erté makes the transition from two to three dimensions with an apparent ease and efficacy that set him apart from the 1920’s artist. His training as a fashion designer conditioned him to conceive his sketches in the round, to envisage clearly how they would look when transposed from the drawing board to the human form, viewed simultaneously from different angles across the room. Most other sculptors focus mainly on the front of the piece then the sides and reverse receive secondary definition and detailing to complete the composition. The strong three-dimensionality of Erté’s sculpture is a major element in its success.
As he noted “Sculpting is a natural impulse, in my creative technique I conceive designs in three dimensions… It is impossible for a fashion designer to produce a model of each design, so he must be content with a drawing. Any designer is thus restricted to two dimensions, and a fashion designer is also confined to the predictable form. Sculpting – working in three dimension – has relieved me of these restrictions and has allowed me to exercise all of my creative impulses, including the use of colour and the modelling of fantastic forms. The greatest thrill of any fashion designer is to see his drawing come to life – to rise from the flat page and be worked into costumes that transform the wearer into an object of beauty and desire. Only when a design is realised can its success be properly judged. I am filled with a sense of excitement whenever I see and touch a bronze from my Sculpture Collection, through which I have been able to see my drawings, thoughts, ideas and dreams come to life as never before’.
Recognition and Awards
In 1976 the French government bestowed Erté with the prestigious title of ‘Officer of Arts and Letters.’ In 1982, he was presented with the Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris. Erté passed away in 1990, but his influence is still heavily felt today in the art, design and fashion worlds.
Where to Find Romain de Tirtoff’s work
His work can now be found in the collections of many important museums around the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); and at Museum 1999 in Tokyo.
Erté and Hickmet Fine Arts
If you would like to see Erté sculptures in person, we currently have a number of pieces in our collection all of which are signed, dated and numbered with full reference in the Erté Catalogue Raisonné.
Although the outlook appears more difficult, there are antiques dealers seeing success as a result of a renewed verve for writing. It certainly appears that writing about your antiques niche with passion and panache is a great way to get more people interested in your pieces. While writing a book about your cherished collection may seem a bit much, blogging and social media are changing the landscape. We can now publish our expertise with ease, allowing us to attract buyers and collectors from spheres we had barely considered before.
In this post, I take a look at the prevailing fashions in home decoration and explain how I believe we, as antiques experts, can and should influence these with writing, and why an exciting emerging demographic means NOW is the time to do it.
Fast fashion doesn’t just apply to clothing
For those of us in the antiques trade, the idea of a home without a collection of carefully curated pieces is unthinkable. After all, the beauty, history, and interest of certain antiques can be intoxicating for those with the collecting bug. We all have our own favourite eras and styles, and everyone’s individual design ethos has long meant that antiques of all styles have had a market. Things are changing.
While we may not understand a disinterest in antiques, for many people the idea of spending good money on what they see as ‘old junk’ is unthinkable. Today’s home furnishings and decorations are cheaper than ever, as multinational giants such as Ikea take over. The average person now wants to decorate their home with the furniture equivalent of ‘fast fashion;’ goods of dubious quality made quickly and cheaply with unethical labour.
In today’s instant gratification society, many people don’t want to lay out the investment required for a well-made piece of furniture or art that will last a lifetime (or many lifetimes!) They just don’t see a value in spending more for high-quality goods when their tastes and fashion might change in a few years – they want the stylish (albeit cheaply made) instant gratification.
As antiques dealers, what we have to offer transcends fast fashion and can bring interest, sophistication and beauty to their lives. All we need to do is make more people aware of this, and that is where writing comes in.
Successful Writing – An Art Deco case study
We have noticed that sometimes, all it seems to take is a new book (or two) about a specific era or design movement to stoke the trend and encourage new interest. Last year, we witnessed a resurgence in the interest in Art Deco statues and decorative items which correlated directly to two new Albert Shayo books on the topic, published in May in 2016.
Shayo’s lovingly written tomes, one about Art Deco statuettes and one about Romanian sculptor Demétre Chiparus, are authoritative texts that received a lot of press. As a result, we began to field more and more requests for Art Deco figurines from our clients. Whether they had read Shayo or were just influenced by the increase in Art Deco in the cultural zeitgeist, the books are clearly a factor driving trends.
Making antiques popular
This correlation between books and popular antiques is not just limited to Art Deco; many other objects and design trends have had their popularity boosted as well. A large number of new collectors began to acquire Vienna Bronzes in 2008 as a result of Joseph Zobel’s book Antique Vienna Bronzes. This trend has continued over the past decade, with many clients referring directly to Zobel’s book when making their requests.
Similarly, a Belgian glass dealer named Tiny Esveld published four books that have become invaluable reference works for collectors and prompted many novices to begin their own collections.
In 2016, G.G. Weiner published a Lalique car mascot reference book, and this has helped generate new discerning clients interested in these unusual objects.
All of these authors have created a surge in popularity for their own areas of speciality. Could you do the same for yours? It must be worth a try.
Creating interest in antiques by blogging
How can you get your message about antiques out into the world? Simple: write about them. While we might not all be able to write and publish a successful book, we can make smaller contributions to our industry by harnessing the power of websites and social media.
Writing a blog is a great way to draw those searching online for your pieces towards your business. Blogging also enables you to reach an audience that may not have given much consideration to antiques before. By telling people about our collections and demonstrating what makes them so interesting we can ensure more people see them as special and unique and worthy of investment.
By sharing our own perceptions of the items in our collections, we can highlight their relevance in history and encourage others to connect to them in a similarly meaningful way.
This method works particularly well when combined with an element of ‘news jacking.’ Demonstrate how your pieces (or their era) are relevant to a news story that’s getting lots of attention and you can divert some of that attention your way, to your pieces, giving you the chance to pique people’s interest and tempt them to buy into your passion.
Seen something exciting on Antiques Roadshow and have a tale to tell about those times? Write it. Is a love story hitting the headlines with a likeness to a tale behind one of your pieces? Highlight it. Is your table made from trees now extinct in your country? Detail this. Can you track the lineage of your piece through some interesting pairs of hands? Tell people about them.
Share your stories on social media, accompanied with relevant hashtags, and you can reach the mainstream market.
To spread your message even further, consider contacting local newspapers or sector publications that have larger audiences. Publishing a guide or a ‘spotlight’ piece on an object or historical era can generate a lot of interest.
The risk of not sharing our expertise
The growth of social media and the online world has made it all too easy for those with little knowledge of the antiques market to widely publicise their views. These ‘mistruths’, whether they are incorrect facts about individual pieces or the state of the market, can spread quickly and be highly damaging to reputable dealers.
Creating a separate, honest and informed narrative is important if we want to combat these ‘click bait’ stories and encourage confidence in the antiques sector. Demonstrating that there is a way people can buy antiques with confidence is key if we want a new, younger demographic to buy into antiques. As is working to inspire people and demonstrate ways to incorporate antiques into modern, eclectic homes, as the Young Guns did in Bath.
Making Grandma and Grandpa ‘cool’ again? A resurgence in vintage and the ‘hipster’ ethos
Right now there is an emerging demographic in the antiques industry that is particularly perceptive of the online world – the ‘hipsters.’ From old-timey language to cooking to clothing, a generation of well-heeled youngsters is keen to embrace all things vintage. As esteemed antiques dealer Richard Gardner has pointed out, these ‘decorative and vintage market’ clients have bucked the fast fashion trend and are actively seeking out antiques.
Far from fearing the styles of their grandparents, the ‘hipster’ set is all about recreating mid-century modern lounges, nineteenth-century refectories, and shabby chic interiors. This set are not solely limited to decorating their houses, either – they are opening a host of cocktail bars, barber shops, pubs and diners with the same vintage look and feel.
Targeting this clientele just makes good business sense, and they can be found online, on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, where they are happy to check out blogs about interesting looking pieces. Reaching out to them here (or hiring a ‘digital native’ to help you do so) will bring you a new audience for your beloved collections.
]]>In 1913, the brothers decided to start their own business and bought a small glass factory, specialising in electric light bulbs, in association with a friend Henri Wolf. This factory was known as ‘Schneider Freres & Wolf’. At the outbreak of the World War I, the firm's activity had to be stopped and the glassworks closed by the end of 1914. Then in 1917 the factory re-opened under the name "Societe Anonyme des Verreries Schneider". At this time the factory produced mainly cameo glass with floral designs. Apart from the introduction of art glass, half of the production was of commercial drinking glasses. In 1918, fire destroyed the studios at Galle and a group of artists went to Schneider’s to continue their production for Galle. This period was a huge impact on Schneider because of the many techniques he acquired from the Galle technicians who joined Societe Anonyme des Verreries Schneide.
By 1920, the factory was working at full capacity making mainly art glass. Various new designs were created and the factory expanded to employ about 500 workers. At this time, the company was at its peak due to the good designs of the previous years, such as the new style created in the 1920’s using new shapes and contrasting colours by applying black foot and handles to brightly coloured vases and coupes, which gave them a more dramatic effect.
Always innovative, Schneider also created a new technique of ‘coloured powders’ whereby the pulverised glass was mixed with metal oxides to obtain different colours and then spread on a flat surface. Most of Schneider’s art vases and lamps at this time were exported to America. After the Wall Street crash of 1929 demand dwindled and the factory started to decline. During the 1930’s production of art glass was down to a few pieces a day as they concentrated on making simple designs with less colours for the local market.
In 1950, Charles Schneider and his son founded a new glassworks at Epinay-sur-Seine, named "Cristalleries Schneider", which was later transferred to Lloris after an accident caused by a gas explosion. Like the old Schneider factory, this one specialised in free-blown glass, but this time, the glass was lead crystal, which had come back into favour in Europe. It was no longer cut, but worked almost exclusively by free-blowing and drawing. All the productions were signed "Schneider France".
Charles Schneider senior died in 1953. The Cristallerie Schneider operated until 1957, when the factory was destroyed by an explosion. Schneider Art Glass was made until 1981 when the factory closed its doors for the last time.
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Then in 1859 Achille Collas died leaving Barbedienne as the sole owner of the foundry, which by that time had over 300 workers. As a true Romantic, Ferdinand Barbedienne was committed to democratisation of arts, creating numerous works and editions that were loved by the bourgeois of the time. A great deal of famous sculptures we sometimes see today are hence cast by the Barbedienne Foundry.
All his life, Barbedienne co-worked with the greatest artists, sculptors or designers of his time such as Antoine Louis Barye as well as others. In 1876 Barbedienne purchased 125 casting models from Antoine Louis Barye's bankruptcy sale. The editions he produced of these sculptures were very successful, known for their superb craftsmanship and detailing. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war caused the foundry to cease manufacturing due to a shortage of metals, but Barbedienne received a contract from the French government for the production of cannons, allowing business to resume after the end of the war.
Ferdinand Barbedienne died on March 21 1891 in Paris and was mourned by many in the world of sculpture. He strove to the highest quality in his castings and was awarded many medals in numerous international expositions. Albert Susse said of him that he was the "pride of the nation" and that that he "carried the splendor of our industry so loftily to all international competitions". The running of the foundry was taken over by Gustave Leblanc, a nephew, and continued the high standards set by M. Barbedienne. The foundry set up agencies in Germany, Britain, and the United States to market their production. Leblanc actively purchased models and production rights form sculptors including Auguste Rodin and the estates of other notble sculptors of the time. The foundry continued under the stewardship of M. Leblanc until 1952 when it closed its doors for the last time.
]]>The origins of Pâte de Verre glass can be traced as far back as the second millennium BC, with records being found that indicate the Mesopotamians used the process, or a very similar one, to create inlays for both jewellery and sculptures.
Methods used in ancient Egypt and Rome are thought to be like those used by the Mesopotamians. These produced glass with similar qualities to those we now refer to as Pâte de Verre. An Egyptian name for the process is “Stone that Flows”.
The process then fell into disuse for many centuries before re-emerging in the late 19th century, when Henry Cros (1840-1907), a sculptor and archaeology enthusiast, rediscovered the medium. It is believed to be one of the oldest forms of glass working.
The technique behind Pâte de Verre glass
Literally translated; Pâte de Verre means paste of glass. The process begins with the creation of a clay model, which is then used to make a mould from either plaster or silica.
Finely crushed (frited) glass, which has been mixed with a binding material, and then sometimes colourants or even enamels are then layered into the mould.
When complete the whole mould is fired which allows the fragments of glass to fuse together. The thickness of the item produced can be tailored depending on how much of the paste is used. The mould is carefully removed and the glass piece is then polished and the sharp edges removed.
Modern techniques have made it possible for artists to use a much more powdered form of the crushed glass which they can control more accurately to create more intricate patterns.
The Style
Pieces created using the Pâte de Verre technique are quite fluid in shape, with a degree of external texture which is common with pieces made in a mould. Colours are mostly muted shades, which due to the nature of the fragmented glass and the firing techniques, lend themselves well to blending into each other.
Apprenticed from the age of 15 to the Sevres Porcelain factory, by the age of 30 Walter was a skilled pâte de Vere glassmaker.
In 1903 he joined Daum Freres at their factory in Nancy, having come to their attention at the Exposition Universelle, and in return for a studio and a good fee, he shared his knowledge of the techniques with them. Pieces produced by him during this time are often signed A Walter, Nancy.
Walter received several medals for this work at the Exposition Universelle – a diploma of honour in 1900 and a gold medal in 1901.
Where to buy
At our Portobello Road showroom, London, we have a selection of Pâte de Verre glassware including some stunning pieces by Amalric Walter.
]]>One dilemma that commonly springs from this pursuit is what to do with pieces we are compelled to buy at these far-flung locations. Safely transporting the art we have so recently fallen for back to base is hugely important. As many of you will likely find yourselves in a similar predicament, today we are sharing some tips to safely transport fine art, written for us by The Three Centuries antiques shop in Toronto, Ontario.
5 Tips to Safely Transport Fine Art
Packing and transporting fine art must be done in a methodical manner since we’re dealing with items of a fragile nature. Let’s consider 5 tips you can use when moving these precious pieces.
1. Good ol’ bubble wrap
Bubble wrap is our best friend if we don’t want to have our artwork dented, scratched, or marred. This material can be used in boxes as packing filler to secure loose items so they won’t be bouncing around. In the case of pastel drawings and oil paintings, don’t apply the bubble wrap directly to the surface or the artwork could be damaged. Instead, apply a layer of plain paper (without any printing on it) to the objects and then use the bubble wrap to secure it inside your packing box. You can also use bubble wrap when packing smaller items like photos, small mirrors, and sculptures.
2. Seriously sturdy boxes
Use heavy duty boxes of double-wall construction, with plenty of space for the item. Bubble wrap or styrofoam can be used as filler material. Although boxes may be provided by a moving company, inspect them to see if they will be durable for moving artwork. Make sure the boxes are constructed of substances that are acid free, since some acids could damage the artwork. When handling artwork, it’s also a good idea to wear white cotton gloves to avoid transferring dirt and fingerprints to the object. Gloves that are especially designated for handling art are even better.
3. Reinforce with tape
Strong, durable packing tape should be used on all boxes. This is used not just to seal the box but to reinforce the bottom and corners. When purchasing tape to use on a move, look for labeling that says storage or moving, and make sure the tape has an acrylic adhesive. Although duct tape is used for a variety of purposes, it doesn’t stick to cardboard too well. Tapes with strong acrylic adhesives work well for items stored for a while. Tape which is designated as shipping tape will hold up well under the handling of the moving process. If moving artwork with a glass frame, use what is referred to as wider artist tape and put the tape down on the glass in a star pattern. If the glass breaks during moving, the tape will prevent damage to the artwork. Packing tape can also be applied to layers of bubble wrap to secure separate items.
4. No stacking!
Boxes containing artwork and other collectibles should never be stacked on top of each other. Use shipping labels with designations like Do Not Stack, or Fragile so that movers or whoever is handling the boxes will use proper care. Items labeled in this way should be hand carried as much as possible.
5. Custom crates
Having crates custom built to transport artwork is a good option. However, crates made from ordinary wood may not be water resistant and won’t be waterproof. Crates work well for sculptures and larger paintings, and if possible, the crates should be custom built for these items. Handles should be attached to larger crates so they can be handled easily. In some situations it could take multiple weeks for a crate to be specially made. If you are transporting from an antique auction or mall there is may not be time for custom crates. In the case of larger crates, don’t be afraid to ask for help when loading and moving.
We often arrange delivery of the antiques we sell straight to your home. If you are organising your antique’s transportation yourself, we are more than happy to offer further guidance to ensure your piece reaches you in the same condition you bought it.
]]>Upon completing his studies, he rapidly gained recognition in France as a leading visionary of the Art Deco period. He used an extensive range of media, typically working as a painter, draftsman, and sculptor. He exhibited at the Salon of French Artists from as early as 1907, at the Salon des Beaux Arts in 1911 and also at the Salon comedians. Furthermore he was awarded an Honourable Mention in 1914. Many of his works statuettes were made up of bronze or the mixture of both bronze and ivory. In 1937 he exhibited a new series of sculptures and medallions at the International Exhibition in Paris to much acclaim.
La Comète (see right) is a magnificent example of Guiraud-Rivière Art Deco style at its pinnacle. The sculpture depicts a female nude modelled as a streamlined comet, her long hair trailing behind her as she flies through the clouds. The sculpture’s composition displays a great sense of dynamism and movement. This iconic design was considered the height of modernity and an example of the model was placed in the reception of the famous Chrysler Building, New York from 1930 to 1942.The majority of his works were published by the Parisian bronze foundry Etling who cast his works for over 30 years. Founded in 1909 Etling was very involved with the other leading sculptors of the Art Deco period and represented many sculptors of the time, including Chiparus. Mostly his works were focused on women, sports, aviation or automotive, all subjects that typified the Art Deco period known for its passion for speed dynamism and the excitement the new machine era brought with it.
Guiraud-Rivière is also known for his car mascots, an area in which he invested a lot of time and energy. He is one of the sculptors who created some of the most beautiful mascots known during the heyday of this production (1919 to 1930). His mascots, always very well made, are highly sought after by collectors.
]]>Was there an event or epiphany that got you hooked on antiques?
“Having been brought up as a third generation antiques dealer I have been rather spoilt. I would have to say my ‘epiphany’ was my first sale at 13 years of age. My addiction to being a dealer had started!”
What about the antiques world gets you excited?
“It has to be when we are offered ‘fresh to the market’ antiques from private collectors. Especially when you know another private collector who would be very keen to give it a ‘new home’.”
What is your favourite antique ever and why?
“I have always admired ‘L’Accolade’ by P J Mene – circa 1850. It is a bronze sculpture of an Arab Mare and Stallion gently nuzzling together – and 150 years later I notice our horses doing the same thing at home!”
What’s the wackiest comment you have heard at an antiques fair?
“A client saying he would not buy a piece of furniture on another stand because it was described as a ‘breakfront bookcase’ and he did not want to buy something that was broken.”
What’s the most interesting thing that’s happened at an antiques fair?
“Meeting celebrity clients and discovering that they are just the same as everyone else, except that they are usually a lot smaller than they look on the tv!”
What is your favourite genre of antiques and why?
“I have to choose the Art Deco period, especially the sculpture, as I believe the aesthetic style has never been bettered. In addition to the sense of modernity, items may be placed in any period interior and make a statement that can be enjoyed by everyone.”
What’s your biggest antiques related blooper?
“On my first antiques fair in the USA a confident elderly lady client was admiring a sculpture on my stand and she turned to me and just said “Sell it to me”- I was so taken aback I just mumbled “well it’s very nice” – unimpressed she walked off to another dealer and purchased an important painting. I have made sure this hasn’t happened again.”
That’s all for now, but if you would like to meet David yourself and ask your own antiques related questions, you’ll be able to find him at the many fairs we are attending, which you can find out about here.
]]>Louis Ernest Barrias was unquestionably one of the most successful and prolific sculptors of his generation. He started his training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1858 and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1864. His drew from a wide range of themes in his work, from religious subjects to scenes of stark violence. While Barrias produced many traditional figures, such as his sculpture of the young Mozart (see image) he had a strong interest in creating mythological works, influenced from ancient and Renaissance examples studied during his time at the Ecole.
After he finished his studies Barrias rapidly gained popularity at the Salon exhibitions in Paris, putting him in a key position to advance the use of allegorical subject in modern sculpture at the time. In his famous ‘Nature Unveiling Her Secrets To Science’, exhibited at the Salon of 1893 and later acquired for the School of Medicine in Bordeaux, a partially draped female reveals her body whilst emerging from the veiled cape she was hiding under. Here, Barrias uses the female nude to bear the heavy symbolism of nature, reflecting the revelations at the time of nature's power harnessed through science. As noted in the catalogue for the exhibition The Colour of Sculpture, held in 1996 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the sculpture itself is a symbol of technological advancement: “Breathtaking technical progress seemed to solve all the mysteries of the world, and it appeared only a matter of time before—to use Barrias’s visual language—nature revealed its last secrets. That such … academic female figures could still be employed at the beginning of the age of electricity is characteristic for the nineteenth-century.”
After the war and until his death, Barrias was in great demand. He received many honours, was made a member of the Institute, and was professor at the l'École des Beaux-arts from 1894 until his death. Barrias’ work continued to inspire sculptors in Europe and America at the turn of the century to use allegory as a way of giving tangibility to modern concepts, ideas and technology. Allegorical sculptures glorified modern marvels of industry, technology, and speed that defined the Art Deco movement.
You can see his work today at the Musée d'Orsay, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, as well as examples on our website. ]]>In our last Museum Spotlight piece, we looked at the wonderful Daum and Gallé museums in Nancy, France. This week we are shifting our focus to Lalique and telling you about the two top museums in the world to see his pieces.
Lalique Museum Hakone, Japan
Located in the beautiful nature area of Sengokuhara, the Lalique Museum Hakone owns a collection of more than 1,500 Lalique pieces that include jewellery, perfume bottles and flower vases.
There are always 230 pieces on display and the theme of the exhibition is changed twice a year.
A wonderful feature of this museum is the opportunity to have tea in the Orient Express Car, the glass panels for which were created by Lalique. (Reservation required: 2100 yen).
The Musée Lalique
The Musée Lalique is located in the village where René Lalique set up his glassworks in 1921. The museum boasts a fabulous collection of more than 650 exceptional pieces created by René Lalique and his heirs and includes jewellery, drawings, perfume bottles, tableware items, chandeliers, radiator mascots and vases.
Visiting the museum is an immersive experience thanks to the large format photographs and audiovisual presentations.
These museums have by far the largest and grandest collections of Lalique pieces on display at the moment. Also well worth a visit is the…
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Located in Lisbon, Portugal, the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is home to a truly exceptional collection of works by René Lalique that is thought to be quite unique in its quality and consistency.
Between 1899 and 1927, Calouste Gulbenkian acquired eighty of Lalique’s works of art and amassed the largest collection of his original jewellery pieces in existence. It is written that he was a friend of Rene Lalique for fifty years and he is noted for saying “Only the best is good enough for me,” in reference to his vast hoard of high quality art.
Lalique in Museums
You can also find over 100 pieces on display at the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, and tens of pieces at both the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the various Brighton Museums.
St. Matthews Glass Church
Located in Jersey, St. Matthews Glass Church is not a museum, but a permanent exhibition of the world’s greatest glass artisan – a truly special place that is well worth visiting.
The church was rebuilt by Florence Boot in the memory of her late husband Jesse, the owner of Boots the Chemist. She conjured the talents of René Lalique, the foremost glassmaker of the age, to decorate the entire church with his finest work. No similar Lalique commission survives anywhere else in the world and it is truly spectacular.
As leading dealers of Lalique in the UK, we also have some stunning pieces you can view either at our gallery, located at 85 Portobello Road, one of the many antiques fairs we exhibit at throughout the year, or on our website.
If you would like to learn more about Lalique, take a look at our Know Your Artists post on him here, or come and visit us at one of the antiques fairs where we regularly exhibit – see forthcoming events page.
When it comes to decorating with antiques, it is important to include contrast whenever possible. A room that is too defined by one era can start to feel like a film set or a museum. By mixing modern lighting, window treatments and other details with your antique pieces, you can create an elegant space that works for your collection.Different styles, colour schemes and time periods can fight with each other, unless care is taken to incorporate them sensibly. At the same time, presenting a room that is too matched can make it feel forced or out of touch. Here we include a few key interior design points to consider when decorating your home with antiques.
Contrast can work wonders
Remember – opposites attract. Consider contrasting hard with soft, bright with pale and modern with retro. This will bring your entire home to life and create interiors that are truly special and intuitive.
For each piece, consider placing a contrasting piece nearby. Place a baroque chair next to a modernist Danish table, or highlight your Art Nouveau lamps with a contemporary sofa.
Lighting is key
A home that is haphazardly filled with antiques can start to seem clunky and crowded. To counteract this, it is important to focus on your lighting scheme. Lighting should be designed specifically for each room in order to elevate and lift the mood. A well lit room can change the dynamic of your entire home, and bring new life to each piece in your collection.
Add a splash of colour to make things pop
While you might be tempted to decorate your walls with period treatments, such as wallpaper, tapestries or oversized art works, this can be a mistake. This can overwhelm the eye and create a room that is far too busy.
Many savvy collectors choose to highlight their pieces by presenting them in a room with colour blocked walls. Saturated heritage paint colours by brands such as Benjamin Moore can really bring your pieces to life while providing much needed colour and levity.
Remember to keep things liveable
The most important thing to keep in mind is liveability. Unless you truly plan to treat your home like a museum, ensuring that your home is comfortable and cozy should be your top priority. Your home is your sanctuary, and when you walk through each doorway and take in the aura of the room you should feel welcomed and relaxed.
While you want to show off your lovingly collected pieces and furniture, your home is where you entertain guests, spend your time and recharge your energy. If it becomes overly cluttered with pieces, it will be tricky for you and your guests to appreciate your collection fully.
A good way to accomplish a less cluttered and more stylish effect is to invest in a bespoke cabinet in which to display your pieces. Alternatively, displaying your pieces on subdued shelving units can be incredibly stylish, as the interior to the left demonstrates nicely.
Ultimately, your home should be filled with pieces that make you happy and that bring you joy. Presenting them well and creating a home décor that shows them off at their best does them justice, and will make you feel more at ease.
If you would like more advice on incorporating antiques into your interior design, do get in touch. We will happily tell you what we know and should you wish to learn more we can refer you to our recommended interior designers.
]]>Whether you are already an avid collector or just starting out on your antiques journey, there are so many reasons you won’t regret paying a visit to an exhibition near you. Today we explore the top ones to consider.
1.The Chance to Appreciate the Pinnacle Pieces
If an antique or artwork is ‘Museum Standard’, you know it is something special. Antique bronzes exhibited at museums and leading galleries are often the original casting and are therefore most like the artist intended them to be.
The detail is very much on the ‘next level’, the colouring will be captivating, their perfections and even imperfections breathe a life into them that only the best pieces have and you really need to see to believe.
Museums and galleries also know how to showcase the pieces in their exhibitions to best effect. They will have experimented with the positioning, placement and lighting to ensure it perfectly compliments the work and allows you to appreciate all its nuances.
Seeing these iconic pieces in the flesh, as it were, allows you to appreciate just how wonderful they are in all their glory. For those with a keen appreciation for the style, a well-curated exhibition can truly stir something inside you and raise your love of the genre to a whole new height.
If you love antique sculpture, we suggest visiting the Victoria and Albert Sculpture Collection to see the absolute best bronzes made in the 17th – 18th Century.
2. A Valuable Reference Point for Your Antique Collecting Journey
Owning your own Museum Exhibited antique will be beyond the budget of many collectors. However, viewing these pieces gives you a valuable point of reference for your own collection.
Having seen the original casting, you can then compare it to, for example, a 19th Century “copy” and 20th Century “copy” that are available to purchase. Later pieces tend to go down in quality, typically featuring less detail, so if you can look at a later antique and say “it’s hardly dissimilar to the original” you know you have a cracking piece in front of you.
3.Providing Extra Meaning to Your Own Antiques Collection
You can heighten your experience and connection with your own collection by seeing an artistsmasterpiece works, then acquiring their more accessible pieces for yourself.
For example, having seen an original Dali painting and appreciated all it’s wondrous qualities, if you then purchase a Dali sculpture for yourself, your prior experiences with his work become an important reference for your own personal enjoyment.
At Hickmet Fine Arts we have had the pleasure of holding several pieces over the years that have been exhibited at leading museums and much of our current stock is museum quality.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like our article on the relevance of provenance in antiques and do sign up to our newsletter because in the new year we will be writing more on this topic, starting with a look at the top museums and permanent exhibitions to visit if you are a lover of Art Nouveau and Art Deco antiques.
]]>Of course, judging the authenticity of an antique bronze sculpture is not always simple. There are hundreds of nuances to pick up on, which can only truly be learnt through many years of handling antiques. I must admit, after 40 years in the business, the most reliable method I find when considering Antique Bronze Sculpture is my initial reaction when first seeing a bronze. It is in the first few seconds when a sculpture ‘speaks’ to you that it will say ‘real’ or ‘fake’.
This article is intended as a short guide to some important factors to consider when examining and authenticating Antique Bronze Sculpture. Do have a read and if you would like to know more feel free to send any questions to David@Hickmet.com or ask us on our Facebook or Twitter pages.
How to identify authentic Antique Bronze Sculpture
Let’s start with some handy definitions…
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy made by melting two different metals and mixing them. The two metals are generally copper (90%) and tin (10%).
Copper, by itself, is too soft, and Tin on its own is too brittle; it breaks too easily. But if you mix a little tin into the copper, it becomes bronze, which is much harder and at the same time less brittle. It is more useful for tools and also better for making statues.
In some cases other ingredients are added to produce different properties in the material such as lead, zinc, aluminum, manganese, and silicon.
All of these ingredients produce an alloy much harder than copper alone.
A Bronze Sculpture
Although it is possible to produce a single and unique object in Bronze, Bronze Sculptures are generally produced as limited editions of identical figures. This is very important for artists so that they may produce multiple examples from their original work or ‘maquette’. This allows the work to be sold commercially and economically for both the artist and the retail outlet.
A Fake Bronze
Fake Bronzes are Bronze Sculptures produced by foundries who illegally take an original, authentic sculpture and have it remoulded and recast.
An Authentic Antique Bronze
Authentic Bronzes are considered to be those sculptures made in the lifetime and with the agreement of the artist or the artist’s heirs and are sculptures made from the original moulds or maquettes and cast by the licensed foundries
The Legal Side
For a rather more complicated way of looking at things you could always have a read of the College Art Association’s Statement on Standards for Sculptural Reproduction & Preventive Measures to Combat Unethical Casting in Bronze.
As fans of antiques, we are sure you are aware that creating high-quality antique Sculpture was a fine art. It involved many years of practice and a great deal of talent and skill to bestow such beauty on the pieces. Below we explain some of the materials used and processes involved in creating bronze sculpture. We also demonstrate the key areas that inauthentic bronze sculptures will likely deviate from authentic antique sculptures.
The Art of Chasing
Once a Bronze Sculpture has been cast it is allowed to cool and the rod/sprue marks are chased and re-detailed by hand. Any scars left by the rods are carefully blended to match the rest of the surface.
The skilled chaser will painstakingly add the detail to the sculpture’s surface as intended by the artist. This process is quite individual to each sculptor, similar to the brush strokes that may be recognised in a painter’s work. The overall quality of the surface detail helps determine both age and authenticity.
Using Chasing to Spot a Fake
Chasing the surface of bronze to achieve fine detail is a difficult, time-consuming and costly process. There are fewer and fewer specialists who can achieve quality hand chasing on the surface of bronze and much of this work is now done by automated/mechanical machines.
Modern recast bronzes cannot invest the time and expense of having this process properly carried out and the surface generally is either too smooth or has mechanical lines made by electric drills that cannot represent the beauty and care taken when using a handheld chisel and punch.
The Importance of Patination
Once the Bronze Sculpture has been chased, a patina is applied to the surface of the bronze to change its colour. This is done as both a protection to the surface of the raw bronze, which would otherwise oxidise over time, as well as for aesthetic beauty, to enhance the overall effect.
There are two different types of patina. Chemical patinas effect the surface of the bronze causing the patina to change colour by either oxidation or acidity, giving the surface a wonderful ‘warm’ feel that accentuates the realism of the subject. The other patination process is painted patina using artists pigments. Painted patinas can be more intense in colour and as they sit on the surface of the bronze they are easier to wear away.
Chemical patinas look different to painted patinas because you are not just covering or hiding the surface, but rather altering the surface itself. Just as with Antique Furniture, these patinas will wear down beautifully over the years in quite unique ways and become part of the history of a Bronze Sculpture.
It is very difficult to fake this aged patina and so this is one of the important factors to consider when judging the authenticity of an Antique Bronze Sculpture.
Depth of Colour as a Guide to Authenticity
The finish or patina on the surface of an Antique Bronze sculpture is part of its history and character. The mix of alloy used in antique bronze captures an underlying and beautiful pink colour, which illustrates the large amounts of copper used.
This is very different to the cheaper bronze alloys used today that have an abundance of silicone in the mixture. The chemical patination that is applied to modern recasts results in a thinner, more ‘watered down’ colour on the surface with a silvery/grey undertone.
The cold painted colours that are used today are also quite different in tone and texture to those found on antiques, as they have not had time to age down and suffer the natural wear that comes with handling, atmosphere and time.
The Colour of the Base
Many sculptures, especially Art Deco bronzes of the 20th Century, were placed on marble or onyx bases. These served to protect the furniture from the coarse metal edges of the bronze and also gave the figures more height and importance.
Importantly, the quarries that were mined for marble and onyx during the early 20th Century mostly closed down and were abandoned before and during the Second World War. The colours of these wonderful marble and onyx bases are very prominent in their depth and quality, which can help to reassure the purchaser, confirming the true age of a sculpture from this time period.
Beware Modern Marble
One of the most important factors to consider with Art Deco Sculptures is the colour of the bases. Modern quarries do not produce the true deep colours that were so sought after in the early 20th Century and this will be evident when modern bases are used. It is also worth noting that an authentic Antique Bronze Sculpture that has a replacement modern base that has been spuriously signed is no longer considered to be authentic.
Check The Dimensions
One of the characteristics of bronze is that it expands when heated and contracts when cooled. Contraction when cooling results in shrinkage in size by between 2% and 3%, which allows a comparison between an original cast and a re-cast. If one can obtain the exact information of the height of an original bronze and compare it with another example it will become evident whether there is cause for concern.
Reference Materials
There are a couple of websites that can give you good references for sculptors and individual sculpture details, which are basically the results from the auction houses over the last twenty years. Unfortunately, they are subscription services, but if you are keen we would recommend Art Price and Art Net.
You may also search a trusted dealer’s website, such as ours, for pieces both in stock and sold, to see if the numbers match up.
There are also some books with correct proportions for bronzes that we would be happy to recommend, including:
Jane Horswell’s “Les Animaliers”
Christopher Payne’s ‘Animals in Bronze: Reference and Price Guide‘
Pierre Kjellberg’s ‘Bronzes of the 19th Century: Dictionary of Sculptors‘
Harold Berman’s ‘Bronzes Sculptors and Founders 1800-1930‘
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Cameo glass was first seen in Ancient Roman art where it was an alternative to luxury engraved gem vessels in cameo style. It was also used in Islamic art in the 9th and 10th centuries but the precise techniques used by the Roman and Islamic artists were lost to history.
In 1876 Philip Pargeter and John Northwood undertook to create a copy of the Portland Vase; a Roman Cameo glass vase that had been smashed by a vandal in 1845.
Within a year of the copy being completed, several factories had begun producing Cameo glass in order to meet the public’s demand for such pieces….
Cameo Glass – The Technique
Cameo glass is a glass making technique where several layers of coloured glass are fused together and the outer layer(s) removed to produce the finished product. They may be removed by carving using wheels or drills or by acid-etching where the outer layer is dissolved using acid.
Often makers used a combination of these two techniques. The figure areas would be covered with a resist layer of wax or bituminous paint, and the blank repeatedly dipped in hydrofluoric acid. The detailed work would then done with wheels and drills, before finishing, and usually polishing.
Soufflé or mould-blown glass is a technique where the shape of the piece is formed in a mould to produce a similar effect.
The style
Cameo glass most commonly consists of white opaque glass figures and motifs on a dark-colored background. In our period, the artists were no longer inspired by roman subjects and plant and flower designs predominate.
Below are some of the key artists and organisations that developed the art of Cameo glass:
Thomas Webb and Sons
In 1877, Thomas Webb and Sons employed the brothers George and Thomas Woodall. The Woodall’s had been apprenticed to John Northwood whilst he recreated the Portland Vase. They refined the techniques and produced many beautiful pieces of cameo glass. The most important of which were marked with the “GEM CAMEO” trademark.
The Thomas Webb exhibition of cameo glass which was shown at the Chicago International Exhibition of 1893 was widely acclaimed.
The company continued producing glassware into the 20th century, moving towards more Art Nouveau styles as fashion dictated.
Emile Gallé
Gallé was inspired by historical Cameo glass and made pieces with as many as five fused layers.
He experimented with a variety of methods to create shading, subtle colour graduations and perspective.
Around 1899 he began commercially producing Art Nouveau Cameo glass using the acid etching technique on his middle-range pieces. These were of high quality but lacked the individualism of pieces made by Gallé himself or one of his master craftsmen.
Daum Frères
Daum Frères was a French workshop based in Nancy. Their work was initially inspired by Gallé and they became well known themselves for their Art Nouveau pieces.
Verrerie Schneider
Verrerie Schneider, founded by the brothers Charles and Ernest produced Art Deco pieces during the 1920’s. Particularly collectable are pieces from the La Verre Francais line, marked by a script signature on the lower edge. Elite pieces are also marked CHARDER, indicating a piece designed by Charles Schneider. The “Schneider” signature only appears on pieces without acid etching.
Where to buy
Our showrooms in London, located on Portobello Road, contain a variety of Cameo glass vases and other items. These include a stunning Gallé lamp and eye-catching vases from Daum Frères amongst other pieces.If you are looking to begin or add to a collection, we would be only too happy to offer advice and assistance. If you would like to view these items in person, we can arrange an appointment for you, or alternatively, you can browse our collection online.
]]>The Daum Verrier de Nancy factory was set up by Auguste and his father Jean Daum in the early 1880’s. It initially specialised in pocket watch crystals and household glassware.
]]>History
The Daum Verrier de Nancy factory was set up by Auguste and his father Jean Daum in the early 1880’s. It initially specialised in pocket watch crystals and household glassware.
Antonin later joined the company and it wasn’t until the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair that the firm introduced the “Daum Nancy” Art Nouveau enamelled and etched vases they became known for. Daum Frères won a “Grand Prix” medal during the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900 which allowed them to move out of the shadow of fellow Nancy glassmaker, Emile Galle. When Galle died in 1904, Daum Frères began to take over the glass industry.
However, their dominance over the sector only lasted a decade, as at the start of World War I the factory was shut down and turned into a hospital. It reopened in 1918 with Antonin Daum in charge, but the craftsmanship and innovation of the past twenty years were not present. The golden age for Daum Nancy was between 1895 and 1914. This period saw Daum register patents and experiment successfully with construction and decoration techniques that made their work the truly unique and highly desirable art it is today.
Cameo Glass
Cameo glass was a traditional technique elevated to the level of fine art by Emile Gallé, who opened his own glass factory in Nancy in 1894.
The technique involves the outside layer of glass being etched or carved away to reveal the layer below, resulting in a silhouette or ‘cameo’. This was usually of a flower, dragonfly, or tree as it was common for artists to take their inspiration from nature during the Art Nouveau period. At the turn of the 20th century, Gallé was considered the king of cameo glass, yet Daum Frères were also highly regarded.
Expanding on the Cameo Technique
The Daum Frères pushed the cameo technique to its limits and produced astounding work to win awards at international art fairs. They used acid in a variety of ways, one being to etch the pieces, another to selectively alter some of the underlying colours, as well as to frost surfaces or make them shiny. They often combined this acid etching with carving, enamelling and engraving on a single piece of glass to produce creative glass masterpieces.
All Daum Frères glass employed a unique technique whereby a clear glass vessel was blown with colour, but only on the inner surface or layer. An acid resist landscape was then painted free-hand onto the vessel, which was etched by plunging it into a hydrofluoric acid bath. The outer surface was then polished to give the subjects a ‘third dimension’ as the onlooker sees through the clear glass to the inner colour. The background was often frosted which tricks the viewer into thinking they are seeing the coloured glass.
The artist then adds three types of enamel to complete the design: transparent enamel to add the three-dimensional trees, opaque enamel for the snow or ground, and polychrome enamel for the finer details in the distance. A final blast of heat allows the enamels to anneal with the glass.
Examples such as “Deep Winter” received an additional more complicated procedure where a layer of cameo glass was applied before the design was painted in an acid resist, giving a much denser effect to snow or summer fields.
Identifying Daum Frères Glass
As well as picking out the techniques and features mentioned above, collectors can look for the signature as works are normally signed Daum Nancy and often include the Cross of Lorraine. All Daum glass is handmade, and at the company’s height of production 400 workers were at the factory in Nancy, France. The many landscape vases of Daum were always examples of excellence and the skill of several different craftsmen.
Buying Daum Frères Glass
We have a wide variety of Daum Frères glass available to view at our London Gallery on Portobello Road as well as on our website.
]]>Preiss’s personal life
Fritz Ferdinand Preiss was German and born on the 13th February 1882 in Erbach in the Odenwald. He was one of six children whose parents tragically both died, one shortly after the other, when he was 15 years old.
Friends and relatives stepped in to look after Ferdinand and his 5 siblings, with Fritz being apprenticed to Philipp Willmann, a well known ivory carver, where he was trained in the art.
He left Willmann’s workshop in 1901 and travelled to Milan, Rome and Paris, earning his living as a modeller.
In 1907 he married a Berliner, Margarethe Hilme, and soon afterwards his son Harry and his daughter Lucie were born.
Preiss & Kassler
Ferdinand first met Arthur Kassler in Baden-Baden. They soon became companions and founded the ivory carving business Preiss & Kassler, setting up a workshop in Berlin. Preiss and Kassler started out creating small ivory carvings, and then from 1910 onwards began producing carvings combining bronze with ivory. By the time the First World War broke out in 1914 there were 6 employees in the company, who were all outstanding ivory carvers from Erback.
Initially the pieces were cast in the Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry in Berlin, and later in Preiss & Kassler’s own foundry. While Preiss designed practically all of the models, which were produced in limited editions. Much of the production was exported to England and the USA.
As soon as the tumult of the war was over, Preiss and Kassler built the business back up again, to see it reach its height during the 1920s. The pair formed a great partnership, with Preiss in the role of artistic director and Kassler looking after the commercial side of the business.
The company Preiss & Kassler existed until 1943 when Ferdinand Preiss died at the age of 61 from a brain tumour. In 1945, just before the end of the Second World War, the workshop with the stock of samples in Ritterstraße Berlin was completely burned down during a bomb attack.
Art by Preiss
The small ivory carvings P & K first specialised in were often statuettes of children with motifs orientated towards classical ideals. A little known and charming fact is they frequently made their carvings from old ivory billiard balls!
From 1910 they specialised in Art Deco cabinet sculptures that combined ivory with painted bronze. These were mounted on onyx or marble plinths and occasionally on lampstands or mantelpiece clocks.
Preiss is credited with revolutionising the production of chryselephantine statues by using a dental drill to carve the ivory in a more precise and efficient way.
Their most famous works depict modern, naturalistic 20th century women from the sports and theatrical world.
Value & Authenticity
Ivory carvings by Fritz are amongst the most valuable in the world. His works, along with those of Demetre H. Chiparus, are regarded as the pinnacle of Art Deco sculpture and are greatly valued by modern collectors.
Prices depend on the condition and complexity of the piece, typically ranging from £3,000 to £75,000.
As with all pieces of such value, you need to be cautious when purchasing to ensure they are not fakes. Look for the signature, typically on the base of the piece, and always buy from a trusted source.
You can view our range of Ferdinand Preiss pieces here. We would be delighted to tell you more about particular items that catch your eye either over the phone, at one of our regular antiques fairs or in person (by appointment) in our gallery on Portobello Road.
]]>‘Lost Wax’ Bronze Casting - In this article we are delving deep into the process of wax casting to tell you how bronze sculptures are actually made today. The “lost-wax” method of casting bronze sculptures has been the predominant technique across history. In fact, the method pre-dates the discovery of bronze itself, as it was used to cast sculptures with other metals during the early dynasties of Egypt nearly 7,000 years ago, and the process has changed remarkably little over the centuries. The other key method of casting bronze sculptures was sand casting, which overtook wax casting in popularity during the 19th century, only to be superceded by wax casting in the 20th century when materials became available that made the latter more practical once again. We can tell so much about past cultures, religions and society through the many ancient “lost-wax” bronze castings that have withstood the centuries. From these we know that Chinese bronzes depicted ceremonial images, Indian and Egyptian castings symbolised deities, Africans cast images of nature and the Greeks recreated the human form.
Although elements of the “lost-wax” process have been refined over the thousands of years that have passed, today bronze casting is essentially the same as it was in 2,000 B.C. The key steps are detailed below.
1. Making the Original Clay Sculpture
For most sculptors, the process of making a bronze sculpture starts with making an original out of water-based, oil-based, or self-hardening/low-fire clay.
Particularly small sculptures are often modelled directly in wax which, though more difficult to model, allows for maximum detail.
2. Making An Armature
Sculptors will often need to use an armature to help support the weight of the clay, particularly when molding a figure in motion or in a standing posture. The armature is commonly made out of wire, pipe or aluminium.
Once the armature is built, the clay sculpture can then be formed around and on the armature.
3. Finishing the Clay in Preparation for Molding
The final procedure before molding is touching up delicate details and smoothing the surface of the clay to perfection. Any error or imperfection in the clay would be copied in the molding process and appear in every subsequent stage, so ensuring the clay is smooth now means less work is required on the wax replica and the finished bronze casting itself.
Once this process is finished, the piece needs to be allowed to dry thoroughly before continuing to the molding process.
4. Creating a Mold of the Clay Original
Next, a sculptor needs to make a mold of the original clay, which nowadays is done with a polyurethane mold compound or a high-quality silicon rubber. The mixture is “painted” directly to the surface of the clay using a brush in 3-5 coats that are applied over the course of several days. Pieces made over a century ago would have used gelatin rather than silicone.
Both methods then require a “mother mold” be applied; a firm outer “jacket” made out of plaster, Hydrocal, resin, or epoxy. This helps retain the shape of the flexible rubber/gelatin mold when pouring the wax replica.
When the entire mold is dry it is removed and cut away from the clay, taking the sculpture from a positive form to a negative form.
If the sculpture is large or complex, it will usually have to be divided into smaller pieces, with each piece needing its own individual mold, to be rejoined later, after the sculpture is cast in bronze.
5. Pouring a Wax Replica From the Mold
A wax replica can now be made of the original clay sculpture by pouring wax (in four stages or coats until approx 4 inches thick) into a hole in the “mother mold”. The mold is rotated while the wax is quite hot in an attempt to coat the entire internal surface of the mold with the melted liquid wax. When the wax cools and the mold is removed, a wax positive of the sculpture emerges.
6. Wax Chasing
There is now another stage of repairs, known as “wax chasing”, where all of the imperfections created during the pouring process are removed, such as air bubbles, seams, and mold lines.
A network of wax rods, called sprues and gates, are next attached to the positive wax model to serve as a type of channel system, which will feed the molten metal to all of the areas of the sculpture, as well as allow gases and air to escape.7. Spruing a Wax
8. Ceramic Shell (Investment Casting)
The wax is first dipped into a solvent to clean any loose particles or debris from the surface. Next, it is dipped into a solution called prewet, followed by two coats of a very fine-grained slurry. This “primary coating” is where all of the fine detailing in the piece is picked up. The shell is then dipped into a series of 7-9 slurry mixtures of different grades that gradually become coarser. The ceramic shell that results is a hard, durable shell around the entire sculpture that will be the vessel to receive, hold, and shape the molten metal to produce the bronze figure.
9. Melting/Burning Out the Wax
When the ceramic shell is complete, it is placed in a high pressure sealed oven, known as an autoclave. High temperatures (1500 to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit) and pressure force the wax from the shell and the wax melts out, thus becoming “lost”, leaving behind the detailed impression of the clay sculpture within the shell. This step also hardens the ceramic shell in order to prepare the shell for the extreme temperature of the molten bronze which it is about to receive.
10. Casting/Pouring the Bronze
When the ceramic shell is empty of wax, it is then re-fired and made ready to have the molten bronze poured into it. Hot ceramic shells are taken to the pouring floor, where they are either placed in sand to stand by themselves, or they are wired to a support frame to be held in place.
11. Break Out
The solid blocks of bronze are heated to a temperature of approximately 2250 degrees Fahrenheit to create liquid bronze that is then (very carefully!) poured into the ceramic shell. When full, the ceramic shells are left to cool for several hours.
The ceramic shell is broken off with hammers, tools, power tools and sandblasters (yet again very carefully!) to separate it from the bronze metal. Once the entire ceramic shell has been removed, the sprues (which have now become metal) must also be cut away or sawed off.
At this stage, the uncovered bronze is considered a “raw metal”.
12. Metal Chasing
“Metal chasing” is the process of finishing the metal back to the appearance of the original and usually involves a fair amount of welding with a high-frequency welder.
13. Metal Welding/Assembly
If the sculpture being created was rather large or complicated and was cut into pieces during the mold stage, these individual bronze castings will now be welded back together to create the whole piece.
14. Sand-Blasting the Bronze
When the final piece is all welded together and chased to perfection, the bronze is next sand-blasted (or bead-blasted) to make it very smooth and shiny.
15. Patinisation
Intriguingly, the ancient Asians buried their bronzes, sometimes for years, to naturally oxidize them in order to create patinas.The “patina” is the colour of the bronze and “patinisation” is when one applies acidic chemicals and high temperatures to oxidise the surface and change the colour or texture of the bronze as the chemicals interact with the metal.
After the patina is applied, it is protected with a sealant. Traditionally this was several thin coats of clear paste wax, and nowadays a metal protectant is recommended for any sculptures placed outdoors.
16. The Finished Sculpture
The sculpture is now complete and will be truly unique due to the handmade nature of the process. If the sculptor wants to make another one, they have to return to the “mother mold” and go through all of the steps again.
If you own any bronzes, do take a look at our post ‘How to clean and take care of bronzes‘.
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