Great Antique French Spelter Statue by E.Picault. 84cm tall.

Great Antique French Spelter Statue by E.Picault. 84cm tall.   « Less

24" Classic bronze infant Dionysus with Silenus.CONDITION: overall EXCELLENT, some oxidation, needs cleaning to look like new SIZE: 24" tall x 8.5" long x 9" wide, weighing  More »

24" Classic bronze infant Dionysus with Silenus.CONDITION: overall EXCELLENT, some oxidation, needs cleaning to look like new SIZE: 24" tall x 8.5" long x 9" wide, weighing 28.6 pounds. AWESOME PIECE!   « Less

Fine detail King Arthur Bronze made by Peter Vischer in 1513. A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early  More »

Fine detail King Arthur Bronze made by Peter Vischer in 1513. A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur.23cm tall.   « Less

The F. Barbedienne foundry was started in Paris in 1838 by Ferdinand Barbedienne and Achille Collas, who was the inventor of a machine that would mechanically reduce statues.  More »

The F. Barbedienne foundry was started in Paris in 1838 by Ferdinand Barbedienne and Achille Collas, who was the inventor of a machine that would mechanically reduce statues. They at first produced bronze reductions of antique sculptures of Greek and Roman origin. Their first contract to produce bronzes modeled by a living artist was made in 1843 when they arranged to produce the works of Francois Rude. They barely survived the revolution and financial collapse of 1848 which caused many artists and foundries to declare bankruptcy. Barbedienne actively pursued contracts with the many sculptors of Paris contracting with David D'Angers, Jean-Baptiste Clesinger, and even producing some casts for Antoine Louis Barye as well as others. Achille Collas died in 1859 leaving Ferdinand Barbedienne as the sole owner of the foundry which by that time had grown to employ over 300 workers at their workshop located at 63 Rue de Lancry in Paris. Ferdinand Barbedienne was made the President of the Reunion of Bronze Makers in 1865 a post he held until 1885. The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 and the shortage of raw metals caused him to have to stop making sculptures but he did receive a contract from the French government for the production of cannons which kept his foundry open. After the war he resumed his casting of sculptures and put even more effort into signing contracts with various sculptors. Barbedienne Purchased 125 casting models from the late Antoine Louis Barye's sale in 1876. He set about casting and selling editions of these sculptures which was very successful, devoting an entire catalogue to these works. Ferdinand Barbedienne died on March 21 1891 and was mourned by many in the world of sculpture. It was said that he strove to the highest quality in his castings 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 sculptures including Emmanuel Fremiet. The foundry continued under the stewardship of M. Leblanc until 1952.   « Less

Bronze lion by Antoine Louis Barye.

Bronze lion by Antoine Louis Barye.   « Less

Two rare and wonderful spelter statues right out of Shakespeare, or perhaps Goethe's Faust. The pieces are large, high quality, with great detail, and a nice old bronze  More »

Two rare and wonderful spelter statues right out of Shakespeare, or perhaps Goethe's Faust. The pieces are large, high quality, with great detail, and a nice old bronze patina. The two are being sold together because they are companion pieces that tell a story. One is the evil character, perhaps Mephisto, the other the good guy, Faust if you will. Or if you prefer, they could just be any two adversaries from a Shakesperian play. Looking at the pics you will see that the evil character has a hidden weapon and is trying to misdirect the other. The good character, whose eyes are almost closed, pretends to be fooled, but actually has his hand on his sword ready to draw. Great scene and great conversation pieces. They absolutely have to be together. Both figures are in great condition, with the patina showing some signs of wear and bits of the silver shining through. A tiny part of the hilt of one sword is missing, as you can in the picture, but that's the only damage that I could find on either figure, and that, as you can see, is barely noticable. For those who love both art and literature, Shakespeare, or Gothe, these are a must. They're very heavy, weighing in at 7lbs each. 15 in. tall, 6 in. wide.   « Less

Title: Discoforo (Discus Bearer) Date: Roman copy from the Claudian period, early first century AD from an original of the fourth century Before Christ. Material: original in  More »

Title: Discoforo (Discus Bearer) Date: Roman copy from the Claudian period, early first century AD from an original of the fourth century Before Christ. Material: original in marble, cast in bronze. Dimensions: : 70 centimetres high. Original to be found in: Vatican Museum, Rome ------ Not much is known about this sculptor but he was certainly of Doric origin and culture. Possibly a pupil of Polyclitus, he produced a series of statues depicting athletes which strictly follow his master's “rules” of proportion. It is this very dependence on Polyclitus which makes this Discus Bearer easy to read. In a Roman copy of a fourth century BC marble original, the athlete is shown in a resting pose with his right leg slightly advanced while his left leg, which is slightly bent, supports the weight of the figure as it is perfectly in line with the central axis of construction. His right arm is bent at ninety degrees and his hand appears to have held an object (possibly a javelin), while his slightly bent left arm is hanging by his side with a discus in his hand. The style of the torso also shows clear signs of the influence of Polyclitus: the shoulders at different heights, the strongly marked inguinal crease which the twisting movement of the chest and shoulders extends into an S curve, the wide epigastric arch and the vigorously carved muscles of the lower abdomen.The oval, almost chubby, face is totally expressionless, as was required by the canons of spiritual and idealized beauty of the period, while the thick wavy hair is treated more freely.   « Less

The town pump by John Rogers.

The town pump by John Rogers.   « Less

School days by John Rogers.

School days by John Rogers.   « Less

The favored scholar by John Rogers.

The favored scholar by John Rogers.   « Less