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This is a Karner 1931, judging by the Rosenthal design on the base. No. 85.
Beautiful detail on the antlers.

Tristan,

This is a fine addition for you and has always been a personal favorite, a top-quality model of a Damhirsch. (fallow-deer)

Yours is the first one I recall seeing with the decorative gilded stripe on the base, that's a classy little touch, nice.
The examples that they made in the thirties are especially nice, both white and decorated versions. There was one, maybe more, painters that decorated this piece to absolute perfection. The deer literally looks like it can just get up and walk away ... with their distinctive white-spotting, these are truly lovely animals.

T, I think this is a 1936 mark, no? Sometimes these markings with all their dots, doo-dads, dribbles and dashes make my head spin round ...

Very nice good sir, very nice!

Bill

Thank you Bill, I appreciate your comments.
I'm especially pleased wih it as there appears to be no repairs to the antlers, which is amazing considering it is 80 years old!
It is 1931...my photo is perhaps not very clear There are two roses and one crown above the logo, and beneath it an inverted 'V.'

Bill..I should have known your experience in these matters is greater than mine, and paid more attention!!! You are quite right, it IS 1936...I was lookng at the top line in my book (1931), rather than the bottom one (1936).

Tristan, that is a really sharp example of that Fallow Deer by Karner. Looks right at home with your herd of very fine deer figurines! Congrats on a nice find.

Alas, I haven't had much luck with finding any worthy German figurines of late. However, in the spirit of making a contribution to the board I'm dusting off a photo of an oldie but a goodie from my collection that I posted on a previous, and now defunct, forum.

This large rearing stallion was sculpted by Karl Tutter for Hutschenreuther. It was also made with a nude maiden rider and occurs in uncolored white, dappled gray (as shown), and chestnut brown (very rare) colorations.

Enjoy,
T.

Thanks, Tiberius. I very much like the dappling on your horse, and well worth repeating the image!
There seem be a number of Rosenthal horses in some upcoming auctions, so good luck if you are going for any.

As ever this thread continues to be enjoyable, there are some fantastic items being shown lately, this thread is a must for me and I check it everyday.
Slim pickings lately though I managed to pick this piece up over the weekend, worth the 200 mile roundtrip as it was never going into the post.

Kärner at his genius best.

Gary

I've always wanted one of these especially after being lucky enough to pick up this Bronze by Kärner.

Side by side they look great, a few differences but essentially the same roaring stag. The Bronze is slightly larger but not by much.

Gary

I did find a reference to the Bronze stag in a 1935 dated hunting magazine,top R/H corner #5, one of these bronze stags was awarded by the Landesjägermeisters of Bayern as a shooting prize.

Gary

Gary,

Those are some amazing pieces.

These can't be too easy to find, and as for how delicate they are, they must be even harder to find with all the little intricacies in tact.

Beautiful specimens and thank you for showing.

Rich

Bill, Tristan, Tiberius, Gary,

A real pleasure seeing what you all have turned up of late! Gary I don't blame you for traveling long distance to pick that one up. I would've done the same. Thank you all.

Gary, you travelled 200 miles to get that Hirsch...now where was that, I wonder???? Certainly not here in Scotland.
Great buy!

Gentlemen,

Fine additions all, many thanks to everyone for your comments and contributions. Times are lean as far as collecting, but just seeing and sharing each other's finds is inspirational and trustfully keeps that flicker of hope alive for many of us. It's good to keep that drive going, even if at a somewhat slower, snail's pace ...

Sadly, even though Theodor Kärner has a fair-sized and loyal following, I think much of his work is still under-appreciated and valued. For someone who can't afford Allach but would still like a pattern of his marvelous skill for your collection, check out his works for Nymphenburg, Rosenthal and Eschenbach. You're likely to snag one at a fraction of the cost of a rune-marked example. On the other hand, be prepared to shell-out handsomely for good, original Kärner bronzes, they're far and few between ... now and then some of his incredible animal-themed sketches and paintings will come up at auction, too.

What can we say about Herr Professor Kärner that hasn't been said ten times already? He's like an expert marksman who just keeps hitting the ten-ring over and over, and over again ... difficult keeping track of all his perfect scores!

Gary, your pair of bellowing stags is something extra-special, both renderings are quite exceptional. The bronze shooting prize has to be another of my favorite Hirsch sculptures. Like a good crisp, clear snapshot, he captures everything that makes the animal come to life for us; the pose, anatomy and details are extraordinary. You could also say he had a penchant for hooved-animals as his horse and deer sculptures are varied and many. Somehow, the man could continuously impart that special lifespark into just about all of his subjects - whether human, beast or fowl.

I'm not certain at what point one crosses over to genius-level, however, Herr Kärner unreservedly gets my vote for being a "genius with his hands ..."

Good collecting!

W~

Guys, I haven't bought much lately and I'm over the moon with this last purchase, these two together are fantastic, I feel lucky to own such wonderful pieces.

Gary

Gary:

Luck is most often the precise application of skills.

If we use that definition, then you are lucky.

Congratulations,

John

John Z.,

Nicely put ... did you steal that line from somewhere or is that an original ..? heh ..

All kidding aside that saying is quite apropos!

W~

Thought you might enjoy this delicate doe by Prof. Kärner ...
A very nice Model 151 for Allach.

Best!

Willi

Willi,

Beautiful piece, beautiful detail.

You have a very nice collection of Allach and I always enjoy seeing them.

Thanks
Rich

Yes, indeed a beautiful piece. I have a Foxl on the way so I'll post that when he arrives.

Gents,

Glad you enjoyed the doe, that's what it's all about.

Tristan - Looking forward to your new piece!

Here's something you might enjoy - an early, lifesize Meissen pelican swallowing a fish. This one's up for auction and has a reserve of $50,000. heh, anyone care to place a bid? Man, you could build a nice collection of Allach for that kind of dough.

If I had money to burn, I wouldn't mind owning it, he'd fit right in with the some of the other creatures we have around the house. At least it doesn't cost anything to have a look...

Best!

B~

Bill, I thought we were in dire economic times, but obviously not everybody! I can't believe that would sell at that price.
Now down to earth, but just as beautiful, I think....a 1938 Rosenthal small vase that cost E25!
Foxl still on his way.

Tristan,

Now that's a honey of a deal, sweet!

B~

Gary and Bill, those are Incredible deer figurines you've scored. Good deer sculptures are so hard to find, but you've both managed to acquire the best there is. Congrats and thanks for the great images!

So I haven't had anything new and relevant to share here lately, but the collecting gods finally smiled on me this past week and yesterday this beauty arrived at my doorstep.





Just look at the detail:



This is a really nice example of a Vienna Bronze by the Bergman bronze foundry, which began operations in Vienna in 1900, under the directorship of Franz Xavier Bergman. I estimate it dates around the 1900's perhaps as late as the 1920s. It's pretty large sized as Vienna Bronzes go, measuring 7 1/8 inch tall without including the height of that eye-catching marble base. Most Vienna bronze horses you'll find are more in the 3 inch range. It is marked with the signature 'B in a vase' mark that appears on Bergman bronzes, but the actual sculptor is, alas, anonymous. The figure is a bit stylized, with the lean, willowy build common to many horse sculptures of the period.

Vienna bronzes are generally known for their high level of detail and enameled finish. Sometimes figures would be painted with almost opaque colors to the point where you couldn't tell it was a bronze figure without picking it up. Other times, as here, the enamels are translucent enough that you can still see the glow of the metal underneath.

I've wanted a Bergman bronze for a very long time and am so excited to have lucked into this one. They're highly collected and ones this size can be very expensive, particularly with the Bergman imprimatur.

Anyhow, enough waxing enthusiastic from me. Hope you guys enjoyed!

T.

A beautiful beast to add to your stable!

Tiberius,

Always a pleasure to see what our friends turn up next, this impressive bronze equine figure being just so, congratulations! I think this is the first Bergmann in the thread and am glad you posted this fine example...

I've looked at Bergmann's animal bronzes for a few years and know finding a nice piece for a reasonable price can be a daunting task. His figures are unique and highly sought after and command very healthy prices. It's great to find any of his bronzes for a reasonable sum, many that I've seen at auction have sold for several thousands of dollars. Case in point, this great old lizard recently sold on eBay for 4K - by no means a paltry sum. However, this model is rather large, almost life-size at about nine inches long by six inches wide. It literally ranks with the best of all the lizard sculptures in any medium, that I've ever seen. Most of the Bergmann lizards are fairly tiny, at a shade over two inches long and can range from $500-700 for mint-conditioned examples.

A little more background history for our guests...

Franz Xaver Bergmann (1861–1936) was the owner of a Viennese foundry who produced numerous patinated and cold-painted bronze Oriental, erotic and animal figures, the latter often humanized or whimsical, humorous objects d'art. Noted for his detailed and colorful work, and signing either a 'B' in an urn-shaped cartouche or 'Nam Greb' - 'Bergman' in reverse. These marks were used to disguise his identity on erotic works.
His father Franz Bergmann was a professional chaser from Gablonz/Bohemia who came to Vienna and founded a small bronze factory in 1860. His son Franz Xaver Bergmann (1861 – 1936) inherited the company and opened a new foundry in 1900. Many of the bronzes from the 1900s were still based on designs from his fathers workshop. He was not a sculptor himself as often described wrongfully. There were many anonymous sculptors, hired temporarily by the workshops. At the turn of the 19th/20th Century there were about fifty workshops producing Vienna Bronzes.

'Cold painted bronze' refers to pieces cast in Vienna and then decorated in several layers with so called dust paint; the know-how for the mix of this kind of paint has been lost. The color was not fired hence "cold painted". The painting was carried out mainly by women working at home, a typical cottage industry.

Sensuous poses of young women in the Art Nouveau style were disguised by a covering that revealed all when a button was pushed or a lever moved. Often carefully sculpted animals, such as bears, could be opened to reveal an erotic figure inside.

Lost-wax casting sometimes called by the French name of cire perdue (from the Latin cera perduta) is the process by which a metal (such as silver, gold, brass or bronze) sculpture is cast from an artist's sculpture. Intricate works can be achieved by this method, primarily depending on the carver's skills. In industrial uses, the modern process is called investment casting. An ancient practice, the process today varies from foundry to foundry, but the steps which are usually used in casting small bronze sculptures in a modern bronze foundry are generally quite standardized.
Other names for the process include "lost mould," which recognizes that other materials besides wax can be used, including tallow, resin, tar, and textile; and "waste wax process" or "waste mould casting", because the mould is destroyed to unveil the cast item. Other methods of casting include open casting, bivalve mould, and piece mould. Lost-wax casting was widespread in Europe until 18th century, when a piece-mold process came to predominate.

Best!

B~

2/2

This is a coloured Lying Fox Terrier by Karner, one of a set of six such dogs, coloured/white, sitting/lying/standing....four down, two to go!

..

...

Tristan,

That's going to be a first-class set of six! The decoration of those two pups is truly a case of "less being more," beautiful, understated painting.

Thanks and best of luck finishing off the pack..!

B~

Thanks, Bill.

This is an interesting Rosenthal piece (1935), Reichs-Siegerpokal to the National Grand Champion of the Poultry Breeders Asociation...doesn't sound very sexy, but this is a nice, quality piece of porcelain!

Tristan,

Wow! A great find and I like it a lot. Congratulations and I have to say it, as rare as hens teeth.

HoHoHo
Thanks, Mikee!

Tristan,

I agree with Mikee, a great find, something extra-special and out of the ordinary.

These prizes and exclusive contract pieces are tough to locate and make for peerless additions to our collections. Many times these examples are exceedingly rare, having been produced only in very limited numbers for special events and occasions. Compared to the amount of Allach pieces available to collectors, I daresay these are much more difficult to acquire.

A super addition to your outstanding collection, thanks for letting us take a look.

Best regards!

Bill

Thanks, Bill. You and others on this Forum have helped me to open my eyes to some of the aesthetically beautiful things that have been captured in porcelain. Of course, this is partly (or was originaly) driven by the historical connections of some of these pieces, but I am now looking at them in an autonomous light, not quite 'Art for Art's Sake' but certainly standing on their own merits.
Here is a Karner piece coming up for aucttion soon that I know you will appreciate...hope the link works!

http://www.lot-tissimo.com/de/i/5375715/p/33/

If not look for Kunst & Auktionshaus Kasten, 7th July Auction.

Tristan

Looks like we are watching the same stuff, I have my eye on a few Kärner pieces that come up in a search on that site, I like the live bidding, makes it very easy.

Gary

Nice pokal.

Good luck with them ,Gary..hope to see them from you on site.

Tristan & Gary,

Professor K's sculpture, "Victorious Homecoming," is always in great demand, it's so easy to why. Talk about a 'dynamic-presence,' at roughly 20 inches long these larger models are most impressive in person, especially when painted to perfection. This lioness and Kärner's "Tiger with Peacock," have to be among the finest of all the 'big-cats' fired in porcelain.

Gary and I have discussed this topic for some time since we both have and enjoy our own, personal kitty-cats. Why is it so difficult to find good porcelain cats, especially the big-boys..? We agree that it's a combination of anatomy and if painted, the eyes, patterns and above all the area where the whiskers are to be found. I know I blabbed on about this earlier in the thread, but I think it's worth a qick re-hash. It's either a toy model, or a work of art.

Gary, should you be lucky enough to win this 'big-kitty,' I'd be open to any number of barters!

Best of luck and good collecting to all !

W~