Animal Sculptures

A charming pair of linden wood bookends with carved figurines of Owls with beautiful orange eyes, Germany, circa the 1930s. These adorable bookends will make a wonderful accent on a...

These hefty iron horse busts are inspired by the ancient Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), a time when horses were revered symbols of bravery and success. The horses with large eyes and...

Here is a silver plated Horse Head sculpture by D'Argenta and artist Ricardo del Rio. This wonderfully detailed sculpture deserves a place of honor in your home. Its head is tilted in a position that conjures images of this beautiful mount standing quietly at the edge of the pasture. Limited to an edition of only 500 individually signed and numbered pieces, this piece will be the focal point of your room's decor. Retail price of this item is approx. $8600 USD. Hand Numbered: 139/500 Weight: approx. 68 lbs. Measures approx. 22.8” x 24” x 8” About D'Argenta Internacional Ornate in design, exquisite in detail and beautifully elegant, the Sterling Silver Plated products represent the perfect heirloom quality piece for your home. D’Argenta Silver Sculptures and objects d’art offer unparalleled excellence in quality and exquisite attention to detail and are technically flawless yet competitively priced. D’Argenta introduced an advanced new metalworking technique decades ago which changed the way precious metals are sculpted: Combining cold casting and electroforming to create intricate, finely detailed sculptures Initial plating with a .015 inch (400 micra) thick layer of copper Second plating with silver or (24K) gold at a thickness of .001 inch (24 micra) Interior polyester fiberglass core strengthens sleek metal plating Exterior protective lacquer coating prevents tarnishing and maintains luster Does not require polish or any type of metal cleaner Simply dust with a dry cloth as needed About Ricardo Del Rio Born in Mexico City in 1961, Ricardo del Río is a Mexican Postwar & Contemporary artist. Educational qualifications: Sculptural degree at the National Institute of Fine Arts, Mexico 1982-1987. Individual exhibits. 1980 Third Space Gallery, Regional Institute of Fine Arts, Tampico Tamaulipas, Mexico. 1984 San Agustin Gallery, Monterrey, Nueva Leon, Mexico. 1985 Club de Golf...

This large carved malachite elephant is a stunning display of craftsmanship and the natural beauty of gemstones. Measuring 12 inches in length, 4 inches in width, and standing 9.25 i...

Charming pair of hand painted leather giraffe sculptures featuring a geometric pattern body and life like heads. Beautifully hand-crafted with expressi...

Painted ceramic, very good original vintage condition. No damages or cracks. Beautiful and unique decorative mini sculpture. Mini White Dalmatian Dog Sculpture was produced in Italy....

This pair of casted, stylized, mid 20th century bronze leopards are vintage copies of Benin (modern-day Nigeria) bronze figural sculptures of leopards. These large and impressive p...

Brazilian parrot carved from semi precious stones perched on a quartz geode and presented on a lucite base.

This charming antique Black Forest inkstand dates from circa 1880. Beautifully modelled, hand carved from linden wood, with mother and baby bear on a naturalistically carved rocky outcrop. The inkwells are in the form of a pair of tree trunks with fluted glass wells with carved lids and a useful pen tray in front. Condition: In excellent condition. As an antique item, it shows signs of use commensurate with age, these minor condition issues are mentioned for accuracy and, as seen in the accompanying photographs, the inkstand displays beautifully. Dimensions in cm: Height 15 cm x Width 23 cm x Depth 14 cm Dimensions in inches: Height 6 inches x Width 9 inches x Depth 5 inches History of Black Forest Carving The idea behind the success of Brienz wood carving was quite simple. After a disastrous famine in 1816 in the Brienz area people were forced to find new areas of revenues. Driven by the need to create jobs in the Bernese Oberland, an economically underdeveloped region, the Swiss government encouraged the existing resource of timber industry to liaise with the traditional wooden craftsmanship. It took some time to improve from home requirements to sophisticated designed arts but the process was supported by the rising amount of tourists visiting the region. Christian Fischer and other founders Christian Fischer (1790-1848) started self-taught from simple turneries (carved bowls and other articles of daily use) to unsophisticated regional animals and people. Due to his success and the interest of the tourists, other carvers started also following his idea of carving the pristine naturalism. The Swiss government supported these start-ups with additional training of apprentices at special trade school. Brienz School of Wood Carving In 1884 the "School of Wood Carving, Brienz" was founded. It became an important educational institution to strengthen and develop the artistic backgrounds and exhibit an area of creativity. During the years of war in the 20th century, the demand for wooden sculptures came to rest and led to the re-orientation in areas such as toys and carvings for constructions. Beyond that the Brienz wood carving articles had to face an enormous competition from abroad. The School of Wood Carving had to get through difficult economic times but in the late 1970s wood carving enjoyed a renaissance. A lot of young people searched for elemental jobs and added a new value to school education. Today Brienz School of Wood Carving is combined with the education of turner, basket makers and coopers. The school still claims high-quality standards and follows old principles with regard to future perspectives. Wild animals At all times wild animals fascinate people. The highland around Brienz has large variety of different wild animals. Bears are among the most popular models for carvers. On the one hand bears are easy to cut and on the other hand they have a strong symbolized image. The enthusiasm for bears in art...

Bronze with a brown patina signed by the French sculptor Pierre Jules Mêne (1810-1979). Mêne, a pioneer in animal sculpture, is known for the quality and perfection of his works. Thi...

A lovely depiction of the neoclassical taste, three putti can be seen playing with a goat. The terra cotta sculpture from the 1800s has a variegated patination, with hues of dark och...

"Contemporary Ironia Hand Blown Black Glass Sculptured Goblets and Flute Set" by Simone Crestani Introducing our exquisite Contemporary Ironia H...

England, 1880 Hand carved and painted wooden duck. 5.5”w x 12.5”d x 7”h Ref. O2115 $ 920

The piece is a unique representation of a Pelican in a modern way. The animal is gently painted with a brown color. Our designer creates these pieces comp...

Sea monster Carrara marble mouth fountain Italy, late 16th century It measures 13.8 x 31.5 x 18.9 in (35 x 80 x 48 cm) State of conservation: some small evident gaps and widespread signs of wear due to outdoor exposure. The gray marks crossing it do not come from restoration, but are rather the natural veins of the marble. This work has some morphological characteristics typically associated with the iconography of the sea monster: an elongated muzzle, sharp teeth, protruding eyes, elongated ears, and a coiled serpent's tail. An in-depth series of studies on artistic depictions of the sea monster attempted to verify how this symbol evolved in antiquity in the European and Mediterranean contexts and how it gradually changed its image and function over time. The iconography itself is mutable and imaginative and its history is rich with cultural and artistic exchange, as well as the overlapping of ideas. This occurred so much that it is difficult to accurately pinpoint the "types" that satisfactorily represent its various developments. However, we can try to summarize the main figures, starting from the biblical Leviathan and the marine creature that swallowed Jonah (in the Christian version, this figure was to become a whale or a "big fish", the “ketos mega”, translation of the Hebrew “dag gadol”). Other specimens ranged from the dragons mentioned in the Iliad (which were winged and had legs) to "ketos” (also from Greek mythology), the terrifying being from whose Latinized name (“cetus”) derives the word "cetacean". See J. Boardman, “Very Like a Whale” - Classical Sea Monsters, in Monsters and Demons in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, in Papers presented in Honor of Edith Porada, Mainz am Rhein 1987, pp. 73-84). In Italy the monster underwent yet further variations: it can be found in Etruscan art on the front of some sarcophagi representing the companion of souls, while among the Romans we find the “Pistrice” (cited by Plinio in Naturalis Historia PLIN., Nat., II 9, 8 and by Virgilio in Eneide: VERG., Aen., III, 427), which appeared in the shape of a stylized hippocampus or a very large monstrous cetacean and evolved into a hideous being with a dragon's head and long webbed fins. During the Middle Ages, the sea monster was the object of new transformations: at this time, it is often winged, the head is stretched like a crocodile, the front legs are often very sharp fins - sometimes real paws - until the image merges with dragons, the typical figures of medieval visionary spirituality widely found throughout Europe (on this topic and much more, see: Baltrušaitis, J., Il Medioevo fantastico. Antichità ed esotismi nell’arte gotica, Gli Adelphi 1997). In Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries, the revival of classicism - representative of the humanistic and Renaissance periods - led to a different reading of these "creatures". Indeed, the sea monster was also to find widespread use as an isolated decorative motif, especially in numerous fountains and sculptures where dolphins or sea monsters were used as a characterizing element linked to water (on this theme see: Chet Van Duzer, Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps, London, The British library, 2013). From the morphological point of view, the "sea monsters" of this period are mostly depicted as hybrid figures, in which the body of a mythological or real being (a hippocampus, a sea snake, a dolphin), is joined to a head with a rather indistinct appearance. It was usually characterized by large upright ears, an elongated snout, sharp teeth and globular, protruding eyes; a complex and indefinite figure, both from the symbolic point of view and from that of its genesis. The work we are examining is placed as a cross between the medieval sea serpent and the Renaissance dolphin, with stylistic features which recall the snake as often used in heraldry (such as the "snake" depicted in the coat of arms of the Visconti - the lords and then dukes of Milan between 1277 and 1447 - and which, for some, may be derived from the representations of the “Pistrice” that swallowed Jonah). In the search for sources, Renaissance cartography and in particular woodcuts should not be neglected. See for example the monsters of Olaus Magnus, from the editions of the “Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus” (“History of the peoples of the north”) and the natural histories of Conrad Gesner, Ulisse...

A vintage group of leather wrapped figural sculptures depicting the three wise monkeys. Approximately 11 ½ inches wide by 13 ½ inches deep by 16 inches tall

Mid-19th century pair of French painted and glazed terracotta lions grasping oval Fleur De Lis shields while resting on shaped plinths. Circa 1840. Sculptures of lions were often ...

Bronze sculptures "Ostriches" by Stransky Two beautiful bronze statues of ostriches. The heads of the ostriches each have a different expression. With a very long neck, the statue s...

This delightful vintage travertine sculpture in the shape of an abstract swan was crafted by Fratelli Mannelli in Italy during the 1970s. Made from natural travertine stone, the scu...

This stunning Mid-Century Modernist Equestrian Bronze Relief Plaque signed Franz Mikorey originates from Germany, C.1978. This piece features an irregular format in solid bronze with...

Large Art Deco, black patina, sculpture of a marching panther.     

- Hand built decorative horse sculpture - made of clay collected from the potter's surroundings. - decorative motifs painted with a goat hair brush made by the potter to apply natu...

Very cool hand wrought iron and tin rooster, the bird shown strutting and showing off his regalia of life-like feathers. Large scale at 28 by 26 by 12 inches. You can see this rooster as a prop in the 1965 Steve McQueen movie...

Pair of small black and white Staffordshire dogs from England, circa 1970s.

This beautiful large clamshell swan is designed and handmade by Gabriella Binazzi. She creates original and unique objects using strange materials such...

Extremely rare shadow box wall art from the 1950's. Reminiscent of the work of Laurids Lonborg and Richard Galef, but probably Austrian. We had a t...

A mid-19th century model of the Uffizi Boar, called 'Il Porcellino', by Austin & Seeley, the seated figure of the boar on an integral square plinth. This cast stone model of the Uffizi Boar takes its name from a 17th-century bronze fountain by sculptor Pietro Tacca, made for Cosimo II de' Medici and originally placed in the Loggia at the Mercato Nuovo in Florence. This civic space was also known as the Loggia del Porcellino, named after the boar as rubbing the statue's nose is said to bring great wealth. Made in the 1630s, it was modelled after an earlier marble version (Italian, 2nd-1st century BC) discovered in Rome in 1556 on the slopes of the Esquiline Hill, itself thought to be based on a lost Greek Hellenistic bronze version. After restoration, the marble statue was brought to Florence in 1568 as a gift from Pope Pius IV to Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, initially placed in the Pitti Palace. Both this marble and the 17th-century bronze versions are now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It remained an immensely popular subject for Grand Tourists, who collected their own versions. It is a testament to the commercial prowess of Austin and Seeley...

A Venetian sculptural fish figurine in hand blown glass, produced on the isle of Murano, circa 1960s. A nice piece of art for any room.

Intriguing horse sculpture made of hand carved solid wood, hand painted with beautiful rustic patina. Professionally mounted on steel base. Exceptional object of art for display.

Gorgeous vintage leather made Rhino money bank. A beautiful decorative item in dark brown leather with a small metal lock. I am so sorry that the original old Key is missing. Made in...

Unique and artistic bookends by a Master Craftsman. This rare and possibly unique pair of stunning bookends is in very good condition. The design is symbolic and meaningful and the ...

19th C bronze German sheppard doorstop. Great condition.

Vintage mid-century brass swan. Lightly polished to bring out the shine of the brass without taking away the patina. A unique brass figurine perfect for any bird lover. Coordinates ...

A pair of beutifully cast horse heads, charming faces, most likely French, hitching post, cast iron, missing mouth bit.

A beautiful pair of bronze greyhound sculptures on marble created by sculptor Pierre Jules Mene (1810-1879). Impressed signed "P.J. MEN...

An impressive clear and frosted glass paperweight in the form of a grazing bison with excellent hand finished detail, signed Lalique France ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Height: 9.5 cm Width: 12 cm Condition: Excellent Condition circa: 1970 Materials: Frosted Glass ABOUT Lalique Glass René Lalique (1860-1945) began his career as a jewellery apprentice at the age of 16, and by 1881 he was a freelance designer for many of the best-known Parisian jewellers. In 1885, he opened his own workshop on Place Gaillon in Paris, the former workshop of Jules Destape. In 1887, Lalique opened a business on Rue du Quatre-Septembre, and registered the "RL" mark the following year. In 1890, he opened a shop in the Opera District of Paris. Within a decade, Lalique was amongst the best-known Parisian jewellers. In 1905, Lalique opened a new shop at Place Vendôme which exhibited not only jewellery, but glass works as well. It was close to the shop of renowned perfumer François Coty; in 1907, Lalique began producing ornate perfume bottles for Coty. The production of glass objects began at his country villa in 1902, and continued there until at least 1912. The first Lalique glassworks opened in 1909 in a rented facility in Combs-la-Ville, which Lalique later purchased in 1913. In December 1912, Lalique hosted an exhibition of Lalique Glass—as his glass would come to be known—at the Place Vendôme shop. During the First World War, the glassworks produced mundane items in support of the war effort. In 1919, work began on a new production facility in Wingen-sur-Moder, which opened in 1921. From 1925-1931, Lalique produced 29 models of hood ornaments; a mermaid statuette first produced in 1920 was also later sold as a hood ornament. During the 1920s and 1930s, Lalique was amongst the world's most renowned glassmakers. René Lalique died in 1945. His son Marc Lalique took over the business, operating initially as "M.Lalique" and later as "Cristal Lalique...

A captivating early 20th Century cold painted Austrian bronze study of a walking lizard with excellent cold painted colour and very fine hand finished surface detail, signed with th...

Vintage Chinese Cloisonné War Horse Sculptures on Mahogany Base - Pair Exquisite Set of 2 vintage Chinese Cloisonne' war horse sculptures on maho...

Rare and Unique Model From our Black Forest collection, we are delighted to introduce this rare example Swiss Black Forest Bear Tobacco Jar. The Bear Tobacco Jar carved from Linden ...

Mid-Century Modern Abstract Metal Bull Sculpture

A Murano glass sculpture depicting four birds in white and light pink perched on a clear glass tree with branches attached to a base decorated with rounds. A nice centerpiece in each...

19th century Russian Ormolu "Dancing Bear" sculpture, finely cast figure of a bear holding a twig, standing on a roped revolving, iron pedestal. The simp...

Classic early 1950s Austrian Bosse cat Figurine Collectible. Nice addition to your room or just for your collection of Austrian bronze items. Found at an estate sale in Vienna, Austr...

A wonderful mid 20th Century frosted glass figure of a crouching cat with good hand finished surface detail, signed Lalique France ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Height: ...

Princess Yenenga, founder of the Mossi Empire, from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, bronze West African sculpture from the late 20th century This is a contemporary piece, not historical ...

Fantastic silver bird (toucan) by Gabriele De Vecchi, Milano (IT). The body formed by a large pebble flanked by an impressive silver beak and fitted with a tail and legs decoration. ...

Metal wire mid size and rare size sculpture of a lion on a black metal base. The body is black metal wire and the mane is tinted in gold. In the style of C. Jere, circa 1990s. Mid-C...

Small Playing seal figurine by walter bosse around 1950s Original condition

ALEXANDER PHIMISTER PROCTOR American, 1860-1950 "Princeton Tiger" (1910) Dark-brown and autumnal patinated bronze signed in cast "AP PROCTOR 1912", "GORHAM CO FOUNDERS 0454 # 88" ...

A bison glass sculpture made of clear and frosted glass. Made in the 1970s by Lalique in Paris.

Bronze lizard, as if exposing itself to the rays of the sun, on an onyx base It is necessary to note the very beautiful details in the realization of the lizard, the finesse of the ...

What a fun and beautiful unque accessories. 19th century Fine hand carved Bulldog inkwell from England. Head tilts back. It well sit and stay, look...

Hand-carved in Veneto, Italy, this pair of limestone horses are sculptures in the round, meaning that they can be viewed from any angle. Although the c...

A pair of English composition lion sculptures from the late 20th century, with weathered patina. Born in England during the late 20th century, each of this pair of composition lions ...

Hand carved boxwood frog netsuke dating from the Meiji period. The frog (kaeru) is associated with luck and wealth in Japanese culture. Kaeru in is a homophone meaning both "frog" an...

Impressive pair of Italian patinated brass big horn ram's head sculptures featuring long curled horns and dramatic neoclassical styling. These pieces stan...

Beautiful vintage Murano hand blown Summerso orange, green and gold flecks Italian art glass bird sculpture. Created in the manner of designer Alfredo Barbini. The pheasant, or roost...

Large hand painted and glazed ceramic ram head made in Italy in the 1950s great as accent piece or center piece.