VIENNA BRONZE, GROUP WITH FOUR CAT FIGURES, 1920s

Company of Franz Xaver Bergmann (1861-1936)
Bronze with cold paint
Austria, 1920s

This lot comprises four individual miniature bronzes in the shape of humanized cats. We see a dancing couple, a wanderer in traditional costume with a walking stick, a chamber maid with a broom and a tamer that is training a little mouse seated on a chair.

Vienna Bronzes / Franz Xaver Bergmann (1861-1936)
The term 'Vienna bronze' simply refers to antique bronzes that were made by artists from Vienna, Austria. In the 19th and early 20th centuries more than 100 small workshops and foundries manufactured these small objects. The bronzes started becoming popular in the middle of the 19th century. The bronzes are known to have extremely fine detail and are often cold painted with polychrome enamels. The subjects include animals like cats, pigs, foxes and dogs as well as human figures and nudes. Vienna bronzes come in all sizes but are most popular in the smaller scale. These bronzes can be as tiny as 2 cm tall. The most famous Vienna Bronze manufacturer was Franz Xaver Bergmann (1861-1936) who often signed his pieces with the letter 'B' in an urn-shaped cartouche.

Signature / Marks: dancing couple with Bergmann 'B in urn' mark on underside, tamer group bears a 'fleurs de lis' mark which also identifies Bergmann pieces
Dimensions: heights range from 3,5 cm to 5,5 cm
Condition: good condition with abrasions to cold paint here and there
Provenance: Austrian private collection