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Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann) Furniture

Austrian, 1861-1936

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.

Find antique Franz Xaver Bergmann decorative objects, lighting and other works on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)
Dealer: Antiquario
Austrian Orientalist Bronze of an Arab Rug Merchant by Bergman c.1910
By Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann)
Located in San Francisco, CA
This exceptional large Orientalist style bronze is marked Bergman, one of early twentieth-century Vienna’s most famed producers. Crafted from cold-painted bronze, and depicts a rug ...
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Early 20th Century Austrian Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann) Furniture

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Franz Xaver Bergman (bergmann) furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann) furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann) furniture, although gold editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann) were created in the Art Nouveau style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Carl Kauba, Michael Powolny, and Dagobert Peche. Prices for Franz Xaver Bergman (Bergmann) furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at £645 and can go as high as £46,240, while a piece like these, on average, fetch £5,652.

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