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Franz Bergmann, Crocodile, Vienna Bronze Sculptural Paperweight, Ca. 1900

Name: Franz Bergmann, Crocodile, Vienna Bronze Sculptural Paperweight, Ca. 1900
Brand: Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)
Price: 1600 USD

About the Item

Artist: Franz Xaver Bergmann Sculpture: Crocodile This wonderful life-like little sculpture of a crocodile is actually a most convenient paperweight, and a perfect desk accessory. Created in polychrome cold-painted bronze, and rendered in the best traditions of the world-famous Viennese foundry of Franz Xaver Bergmann. Period: Ca. 1900 Style: Jugenstil/Animalist Medium: Cold-painted bronze Dimensions: L: 7.25” x W: 2:75” x H: 1.25” Markings: Marked on the bottom with a "B" in an urn-shaped cartouche (for “Bergmann”), model number, and “GESHUTZED” (German: “PROTECTED). Condition: The quality of the casting is superb, as well as the superb cold-painted surfaces. The sculpture retains original colors and original patina. Artist: 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. Cold painted bronze refers to pieces cast in Vienna and then decorated in several layers with so-called dust paint; the expertise for the mix of this kind of paint has been lost. The color was not fired hence "cold painted". Mainly women working at home, a typical cottage industry, carried out the painting. Noted for his detailed and colorful work, Bergmann was signing his creations with either a "B" in an urn-shaped cartouche, or "Nam Greb" - for "Bergman" in reverse. These marks used to disguise his identity on the erotic works. Often, the sculptures are also marked with model number and stamped “GESHUTZED” (German for “PROTECTED”).

Creator:

Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann) (Maker)

Dimensions:

Height: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)Width: 7.25 in (18.42 cm)Depth: 2.75 in (6.99 cm)

Style:

Art Nouveau (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Bronze,Cold-Painted

Place of Origin:

Austria

Period:

1900-1909

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1900

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. We make our best effort to provide a fair and descriptive condition report. Please examine photos attentively, as they are part of the description. Send us a message to request more details or discuss price.

Seller Location:

New York, NY

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU2819323464202

Shop All Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)

Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)

Globally celebrated Austrian metal worker Franz Xaver Bergman(n) is known for his bronze statuettes and figurines, which are rich with personality and alive with color.

Bergmann's father, Franz Bergmann, Sr., apprenticed under Josef Ott and became a professional caster and chaser, who moved from Gablonz, Bohemia, to Vienna in 1860, where he opened a small foundry. There, he put what he’d learned about naturally patinating bronzes and created popular figurines and sculptures. At the turn of the century, Bergmann inherited the company from his father and opened a second foundry.

At the Bergmann Foundry, Franz Xaver Bergmann created numerous bronze figures, employing a technique now known as “cold painting” that has been lost to time. Bergmann’s early works were based on his father’s molds. He hired local workers to cast his own designs.

Bergmann’s works encompass an immense variety of subject matter. His foundry created bronzes of humanized animals, mythological creatures and animals in natural poses. Many of his statuettes are representative of his fondness for faraway lands and peoples, with a great number of his works depicting Native American, Asian, Persian and Arabian cultures. He's also known to have created some risqué Art Nouveau figurines — to some collectors, the Bergmann Foundry is known for its sculptures of women in various sensuous poses wearing ingeniously executed removable articles of bronze clothing.

Franz Xaver Bergmann’s recognized maker’s mark was a capital “B” inside a scrolled horseshoe, but Bergmann would place the pseudonym "Nam Greb" — the reverse of his last name — on his racier pieces, to keep his more conservative and conventional customers from connecting his name to those works.

Bergmann had to close his company’s doors in 1930 owing to the financial strains that came with the Great Depression. He died in 1936 before the company could open again. His son, Robert Bergmann, reopened the foundry many years later and continued to own and operate it until his death in 1954. Karl Fuhrmann & Co. purchased what remained of the company after Robert died. Bergmann’s cast-bronze figures endure to this day and are highly prized by collectors and enthusiasts of figurative art.

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