Globally celebrated Austrian metalworker 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, and moved from Gablonz, Bohemia, to Vienna in 1860, where he opened a small foundry. There, he used what he’d learned about naturally patinating bronzes and created popular figurines and sculptures. At the turn of the century, Franz Xaver 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 since 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 employ the pseudonym "Nam Greb" — the reverse of his last name — on his racier pieces in order 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 Bergmann Foundry after Robert died. Franz Xaver Bergmann’s cast-bronze figures endure to this day and are highly prized by collectors and enthusiasts of figurative art.
Find antique Bergmann Foundry decorative objects on 1stDibs.
$3,603Sale Price|20% Off
Gilded Austrian Bronze Inkwell / Pen Rest, Signed Bergmann
By Bergmann Foundry
Located in Bath, GB
A magnificent and grand late Victorian Austrian desk set, made from cast bronze, beautifully finished in gold. The cast Owl is a figural inkwell ...
Bronze
Silver Plate Hoof Inkwell with Pen Rest, by Rowland Ward & Co
By Rowland Ward
Located in Reepham, GB
A late 19th century silver plate mounted horse hoof inkwell, the lid and horseshoe of silver plate, the hinged lid opening to the glass inkwell wit...
Silver Plate
$290
H 7.88 in W 1.25 in D 0.5 in
Antique Austrian Art Nouveau Bronze Elephant Motif Letter Opener, Bergmann 1910
By Franz Bergmann
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A beautiful antique bronze letter opener dating to the 1910s or earlier, crafted by an unknown sculptor, made by Franz Bergmann Vienna Austria. This beautiful Art Nouveau piece displ...
Bronze
Art Deco Glass and Brass Desk Inkwell with Pen Rest
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Art Deco glass and brass desk inkwell with pen rest A very stylish piece made in heavy crystal with a brass mounted ink well and feet, these may have origi...
Glass
$300Sale Price|20% Off
H 4 in W 4 in D 4 in
Antique Inkwell Tatum’s Standard Crystal Well 3 Pen Quill Rests Hinged Lid
Located in San Diego, CA
Antique Ink Well Tatum’s Standard, crystal well, 3 pen quill rests, hinged lid. This piece is cast iron and crystal. It is a beauty!
Crystal, Iron
$678 / item
H 1.19 in W 11.03 in D 1.97 in
Carl Auböck #4317 Fountain Pen Rest, Patinated Brass, Austria, 2022
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Berlin, DE
Carl Auböck #4317 Fountainpen Rest, Austria, 2022.
Brass
$1,595Sale Price|20% Off
H 4.5 in W 8 in D 5.25 in
French Gilt Bronze and Marble Inkwell and Pen Holder
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
French gilt bronze and marble inkwell and pen holder.
Bronze
$2,057Sale Price|48% Off
H 11.03 in W 15.75 in D 10.63 in
French Bronze and Gilded Bronze Inkwell and Candlestand 19th Century
Located in Cheltenham, GB
A large and impressive early 19c French bronze and gilt bronze inkwell, the central chased handle with a pair of candle arms terminating in lion masks, 2 tray wells either side of a ...
Bronze
$1,520Sale Price / set|41% Off
H 3.55 in W 5.52 in D 3.55 in
19th Century Black Forest Carved Walnut Dog and Cat Head Inkwells with Pen Rest
Located in Haarlem, NL
Very cute set of two 19th century Black Forest, Schwarzwald, Forêt Noir carved walnut dog and cat heads with glass eyes and ink well with log pen rest. Intricate carved detail to hair, teeth, eyes and paws. The cat has green glass eyes, has painted stripes and the log is painted darker. The inkwell insert...
Glass, Bone, Walnut
Antique Inkwell, Gilded Bronze, Antique Desk Utensil, Vase-Shaped, Pen Tray
Located in Greven, DE
Antique inkwell made from bronze, gilded. Very good condition of the bronze work.
Gold, Bronze
French Gilded Bronze Inkwell, Pen Rest, 19th Century
Located in Savannah, GA
French Gilded Bronze Inkwell, Pen Rest, 19th Century
Bronze
$695
H 1.75 in W 10.5 in D 6.13 in
Silver Crest Arts & Crafts Nautical Bronze Double Inkwell With Pen Tray
By Silver Crest Bronze
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Arts & Crafts period Nautical gilt bronze double inkwell with pen tray By Silver Crest (the mark of Smith Metal Arts Co.), an offshoot of Heintz Art Metal Shop USA, Ear...
Bronze
$453Sale Price|20% Off
H 4.34 in W 3.15 in D 2.76 in
Antique Inkwell, Gilded Bronze, Thatched Roof Cottage, Circa 1880
Located in Greven, DE
Exceptional antique inkwell made from bronze, gilded. Little house with cute details. Nice bronze work, beautifully chiseled. The original glass insert is existing. A similar inkwell...
Gold, Bronze