Quarry

Quarry can refer to an open pit where stone or minerals are mined or to an object of a hunt. This superb bronze sculpture of a muscular man mining stone in a quarry should also be the quarry of any lover of the fine arts.

 

The artist captures the stress of the man's body and the struggle in his face as he strains to heft a heavy rock.

The bronze is signed "L. Eisenberger," the signature of German sculptor Ludwig Eisenberger. Born in 1858, he worked as a sculptor in Berlin from 1895 until his death in 1920. He is best known for his detailed bronze statuettes with a rich brown patina often depicting powerful warriors and athletes, as well as male and female nudes in a classical style.

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1895-1920

Unforgetable. . . .

They say an elephant never forgets. Well, this unusual and elegant elephant table is certainly memorable!

Of bronze, with a leather-covered base and a beveled glass top, this extraordinary end table is by Paul Maitland-Smith Ltd. and dates from the 1970s-80s.  Paul Maitland-Smith began his career as a London antiques dealer, specializing in rare and unusual finishings and decorative items. In 1979, he founded his eponymous company in Hong Kong, reproducing Chippendale chairs well as other 18th Century furniture and decorative accessories. His carefully curated creations, crafted by hand, often used unique or costly materials, such as brass, bronze, eggshell, lacquer, leather, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, stone, and wrought iron. Skilled artisans reproduced intricate designs in marquetry, inlay, reverse-painted glass, and gilding. In 1981, he opened a factory in the Philippines and was one of the first entrepreneurs to operate in Vietnam. Maitland-Smith valued his employees and artisans, paying them good salaries and providing on-site health centers and shower facilities at his manufacturing operations. In recognition of his contributions to interior design and the home furnishings industry, Maitland-Smith was a 2019 inductee into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame. Maitland-Smith Ltd. still is renown for its high-end handcrafted furnishings incorporating exotic or whimsical elements inspired by antique and modern design and its vintage pieces are highly sought after by collectors and designers.

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17201-1

Utterly Disarming. . .

This charming sculpture depicts Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, about to break the bow of her son, Cupid, across her knee, while the winged boy pleads with his mother to stop. 

Cupid was god of desire and whomever he struck with one of his arrows, whether mortal or deity, was seized with overwhelming passion and desire. The image of Venus disarming Cupid by breaking or taking away his bow was a popular scene in classical art and is drawn from Metamorphoses, the most famous work by the ancient Roman poet Ovid. In the poem, Cupid accidentally scratches Venus with one of his arrows. This results Venus falling madly in love with the mortal hunter, Adonis. After Adonis dies in a hunting accident, Venus punishes Cupid for exposing her to the torments of love by taking away his bow.

Of heavy metal with a golden bronze tone, this antique statue is superbly sculpted and cast.

 

The base has the partial signature of "Duchoiselle," a French sculptor active from 1840 through 1890. Though little is known of his life, he created a wide variety of sculptures in bronze, ranging from classical and historic subjects to detailed depictions of Native Americans. He also credited with ceiling reliefs for the Louvre and the Paris Opéra.

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1677-1585

Amazing Abstract in Burnished Bronze

 This substantial sinuous sculpture of contrasting bright bronze and blackened patina appears to soar and spiral skywards. 

It was created by the Bennett brothers, Bob and Tom, as a limited edition in 1982. 

The Bennett brothers were identical twins who worked together to create fluid, flowing sculptures in gleaming golden bronze, ranging from undulating abstracts to sleek human forms. The brothers were born in 1939, in Rotan, Texas, moving to California in the 1950s. In 1969, they began their joint art career by creating welded wire sculptures at the a gas station they owned. Following the success of these one-of-a kind creations, the brothers began to work in bronze. In the late 1970s, the brothers founded Bennett Sculpture and built a foundry to cast their designs to their exacting standards. By the 1980s, the brothers had opened a number of galleries in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Illinois, and Texas to showcase their limited edition works. However, the brothers later decided to concentrate on their art and in the 1990s closed the galleries and foundry. Bob Bennett passed away in 2003 and Tom died in 2016 from complications of Parkinson's disease. 

In addition to their art being featured in collections throughout the world, the brothers' sculptures have been presented to world leaders such as President George H.W. Bush, Pope John Paul II, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. They created a pair of 16-foot sculptures for the original Arco Arena building, as well was other public art, and designed an award for Elle magazine’s annual “Women in Hollywood” event, which has been presented to such recipients as Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman and Barbra Streisand.

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14130-2

Next to Nouveau

This beautiful bronze-colored vase features two graceful art nouveau nymphs in flowing robes and streaming tresses. Art nouveau was an artistic movement from the 1890s through 1910s that looked to nature for inspiration and is exemplified by undulating and sinuous lines, giving the feeling of movement. Art nouveau was a reaction against staid academic art and the overdone and eclectic Victorian decor that jumbled together influences from disparate cultures and eras, from Middle Eastern harems to Gothic cathedrals.

This antique artwork was created by the Judd Manufacturing Company in Wallingford, Connecticut. From the early 1910s the the late 1930s, the company produced a decorative line of fine-quality castings in bronze, brass, and iron, including book ends, doorstops, and vases. Of substantial weight, this piece may be bronze.

The piece originally had a glass insert for holding flowers.

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3-11614

Beautiful Birds in Bronze

This superb sculpture captures a covey of quail bursting out of cover and taking to the air.

The artist not only captures in meticulous detail everything from the birds' plumage to the twisting foliage, he manages to portray in metal their movement and grace. You can almost hear the sound of the birds' outspread wings as the quail take flight.

Entitled "Heading for New Cover," this outstanding example of wildlife art is by Utah artist Clark Bronson.

Born in 1939 in Utah, the son of a game warden, Clark Bronson grew up with a keen observation of wildlife. He attended the University of Utah and studied for three years under famed American illustrator Arnold Friberg. In 1960, Bronson was commissioned by the Utah Game and Fish Commission to do illustrations. His detailed and realistic watercolors and drawings of wildlife soon gained him admiration and accolades. By 1969 he was recognized as one of the leading wildlife painters in America. His illustrations appeared in a wide variety of of outdoors and sport magazines, as well as books. Bronson started sculpting in 1969, transferring his artistic skills to three dimensions, his meticulously detailed sculptures capturing the beauty and movement of the animals and birds he portrayed. Bronson died in 2020.

16201-1

Joan of Arc, They are Calling You

Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,

Do your eyes, from the skies, see the foe?

Don't you see the drooping Fleurdelis?

Can't you hear the tears of Normandy?

Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,

Let your spirit guide us through;

Come lead your France to victory;

Joan of Arc, they are calling you. 

"Joan of Arc, They are Calling You" (1917),  

Jack Wells, Al Bryan, and Willie Weston

This superb sculpture captures Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc in French), French heroine and Catholic saint, as she rallies French troops during the final phase of the Anglo-French Hundred Years' War. Born in 1412 to a peasant family, she claimed to have received visions of the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to fight in support of King Charles VII and free France from English domination. At the age of 17, Joan met with Charles, then the dauphin. Charles granted Joan's request to be placed at the head of his army. After a series of victories, Charles VII was consecrated as king. However, Joan was captured in 1430 by a faction of French nobles allied with the English and handed over to the English for trial. She was convicted of heresy and burned at the stake in 1431. Joan was later declared innocent by a tribunal authorized by Pope Callixtus III and canonized in 1920. 

The finely detailed sculpture beautifully portrays the young Maid of Orleans armored and ready for battle atop a spirited steed.

The sculpture is after a work by French sculptor August Moreau (1855-1915), renown for his romantic, allegorical, or historic images. He was a member of a celebrated family of French artists, beginning with his father, Jean-Baptiste Moreau. August exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon and his creations were popular with the public, often reproduced in various sizes and materials.

Of bronze-clad spelter, the statue is stamped the back of the base "Fabrication Francaise * Made in France * Paris." This foundry operated from the 1890s to just before WWI. 

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230-8246

Ode on a Grecian Urn

Well, actually, two urns. . . and not Greek, but Italian.  However, this substantial set of superbly sculpted solid bronze urns are certainly worthy of an ode.

They are each signed on the lip "Alimondo Ciampi" and "Firenze" (the Italian name for Florence). Ciampi (1876-1939) was an Italian sculptor. He began as an apprentice in a Florence a marble and alabaster workshop, where he learned how to carve stone, then studied in the studio of the sculptor Antonio Bortone. Ciampi became a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. His works were exhibited at the Venice Biennale from 1909 to 1924, as well as in many other exhibitions. In 1926, his  war memorial was unveiled in the Piazza Matteotti in Scandicci.  A permanent exhibit of eight of his bronze sculptures is in the gardens of Piazza della Repubblic in Signa.  Ciampi's oldest son, Giotto Ciampi, created the Alimondo Ciampi Foundation in memory of his father to assist and support young artists.

The handles are adorned with young children or cherubs, demonstrating Ciampi's skill in capturing gesture and movement.

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12194-41

Majesty in Metal

The Edo people of Nigeria have had a long tradition of metal casting and this compelling portrait is an extraordinary example of their artistry. When European explorers first saw the metal works created by artisans in the Benin Kingdom, they refused to believe such sophisticated creations could be the work of Africans, but the art of casting metal existed in African long before European contact. The most famous examples are called the Benin bronzes, a collection over thousand metal sculptures and plaques looted from the Benin royal palace by British troops in 1897. Although referred to as bronzes, the pieces are a mixture of brass and other metals. The sculptures were cast using what is known as the lost-wax technique. A detailed wax sculpture was carved and then encased in layers of clay. The clay was baked, melting the wax and leaving behind a hardened mold into which the molten metal was poured. 

The tradition of metal casting continues in Nigeria today, artists often reinterpreting traditional Benin bronzes, such as in this superb sculpture. This head represents a queen mother wearing an ukpe-okhue, a high pointed crown covered with a lattice of bead work. Above each eyebrow are ceremonial cicatrices. The sculpture may depict the 16th-century Queen Idia, the mother of Oba Esigie, considered to be one of the Benin Kingdom’s greatest rulers.

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13581-8

Pretty Bird!

This superb sculpture of a beautiful bird perched a leafy branch is by Texas artist Siggi Munk, one of the pioneers of modernist southwestern sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s. Although born in Germany, Munk spent most of his adult life in Texas, with a studio in Grand Prairie.  Working in bronze, iron, and copper, Munk was inspired by nature, especially birds. He was an important influence in mid-century modern sculpture and was awarded a Special Jury Commendation for Sculpture at the 1962 33rd Annual Dallas County Exhibition of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture.

   Since his death, there has been a growing interest in Munk's pioneering modernist sculptures and as well as recognition of his influential role.

A skilled sculptor, Munk melded natural movement and stylized modernism.

His works often feature bases of rough stone.

The sculpture is signed on a plaque affixed to the stone base.