Bronze and Cristal Centerpiece, Vienna, Circa 1880

A charming centerpiece in gilt bronze adorned with four hand-patinated figures on mobile swings. A metal bowl, resting on a gilt bronze foot and inserted in a foliate circle, is topped by a red crystal vase on a polychrome enamel corolla.

Commentary :
The history of Vienese bronze manufacture begins round 1850, when Mathias Bergmann, a sculptor of metal ornaments for pipes, decides to cast bronze figures after the French model. At the end of the 19th century, more than hundred and twenty handworkers are gathered under the name of Wiener Bronzen. Their production, very precise and hand chiseled and patinated, meets a great success because of its diversity of styles and topics : animals, handworkers, Eastmen…