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~
