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Artist Unknown, Bronze Rabbit Okimono
Okimono in the form of an alarmed plump rabbit, made of cast and cold chiseled bronze with touches of gilt. This okimono is unsigned. It was probably cast in the late Edo period of Japan (early 19th century).
The bronze and gilding have taken on a warm softness with age. The rabbit is five inches high by four and a half inches long and three inches wide.
Steel Lace by Cal Lane
New York-based artist Cal Lane turns highly industrial materials like shovels, car parts and oil tanks into delicate lace-patterned works of art. Using a blowtorch, Lane adds a touch of beautiful filigree to the steel objects, producing works that simultaneously hide and expose the gritty material she chooses to work with.
“I like to work as a visual devil’s advocate, using contradiction as a vehicle for finding my way to an empathetic image, an image of opposition that creates a balance – as well as a clash – by comparing and contrasting ideas and materials” , says Lane, who is originally from Victoria, British Columbia.
Joseph Bosio, “Hercules Fighting Achelous”, Bronze, 1824, Musée du Louvre, Paris
The Nebra Sky Disc
The Nebra Sky Disc is a bronze disk of around 30 centimetres (12 in) diameter and a weight of 2.2 kilograms (4.9 lb), with a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols. These are interpreted generally as a sun or full moon, a lunar crescent, and stars (including a cluster interpreted as the Pleiades. Two golden arcs along the sides, marking the angle between the solstices, were added later. A final addition was another arc at the bottom surrounded with multiple strokes (of uncertain meaning, variously interpreted as a Solar Barge with numerous oars, as the Milky Way, or as a rainbow).
The disk is attributed to a site near Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt, in Germany, and associatively dated to about 1600 BC. It has been associated with the Bronze Age Unetice culture.
The Nebra sky disk features the oldest concrete depiction of the cosmos worldwide. In June 2013 it was included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Registry and termed “one of the most important archaeological finds of the twentieth century.”
Reblogged with thanks to http://museum-of-artifacts.blogspot.com
Wakizashi, Unsigned, Mumei (Nobukuni School), End of Namboku Period, 1380 AD, Second Generation of the Nobukuni School in Kyoto
Nobukuni was likely a son or grandson of Ryokai Hisanobu of the Rai school based in Kyoto. He later studied under Sadamune of Kamakura in Soshu province (present-day Sagami, Kanagawa prefecture).
This is a remarkable sword that was made over 600 years ago in Kyoto by the revered Nobukuni school of Yamashiro province (present-day southern Kyoto prefecture). The name originally inscribed on this sword disappeared in the process of shortening what was once a wider and longer naginata. The sword is in near pristine condition despite being centuries old.
The Sanskrit character engravings on both sides of this sword are simply magnificent. One one side of the sword it reads “Fudomyoo” (The Fire God worshiped by the Samurai) who changed himself into a sword. The symbolic engraving features a dragon trying to swallow the sword. The other side features the bonji character and (blood) grooves that served to lighten the sword and provide decoration. This bonji character was used by Buddhist monks as offerings to the gods.
Many scholars agree that Nobukuni produced some of the finest engravings the Japanese Samurai sword world has ever seen. One very important detail to note is that this sword was tested by Yamano Kaemon who was the leader in his Yamano school – a school that was responsible for testing of swords for sharpness and smooth cutting ability. To test this sword, he cleanly cut through one arm and through the torso of a dead human being (near the waistline).
Gold letters on the tang of this sword acknowledge that a highly respected person inspected and certified this sword. The test would have occurred in the Edo period (1700s-1800s). There were 3 main schools for testing in Edo Period at the time, namely Nakagawa, Yamano, and Yamada.
This sword is a shortened naginata. A remarkably similar looking Nobukuni Wakizashi sword from the same era (likely the same swordsmith) can be found in the Kyoto National Museum.
Johann Schilling, “Monument to Maximilian of Austria”. Detail of the Personification of One of the Four Continents, Bronze, 1875, Piazza Venezia Trieste, Italy
The monument by Johann Schilling was inaugurated April 3, 1875 at the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph. The bronze monument to 8 meters high, consists of the statue of Maximilian in uniform admiral resting on a high drum decorated with reliefs depicting the Austrian flags.
An octagonal base reproduces the personifications of the four continents, alternating with small medallions with the symbols of science, poetry, the arts and industry, and several inscriptions.
Reblogged from and with thanks to http://hadrian6.tumblr.com
Georges Van De Voorde, “Hercules and the Eagle”, Bronze with Marble Plinth, 1930′s, Height 60.1 cm
Born at the West Flanders city of Kortrijk in April of 1878, Georges Van de Voorde was a Belgian sculptor who specialized in nude figures, portraits, ornamental clock bases, decorative objects, and allegorical sculptures. He studied sculpture in the workshop of Belgian sculptor Constant Devreese and worked for a period in France. Van de Voorde’s work was included in the sculptural art exhibition at the 1936 XL Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. He died in Anderlecht, Belgium in June of 1964 at the age of eighty-six. Van de Voorde’s work is housed in numerous private collections.
The sculpture is a depiction of Hercules (Heracles) slaying the Eagle to free Prometheus, giver of fire to man. Hesiod’s “Theogony” and Aeschylus’ “Prometheus Unbound” both tell that Heracles shot and killed the eagle that tortured Prometheus. This was Prometheus’ punishment by Zeus for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals. Hercules freed the Titan from his chains and his torments. Prometheus then made predictions regarding the further deeds of Hercules.
Alan Williams, “Steampunk Squidipus”
Cast Bronze Lord Vishnu, Lost Wax Method in the Hoysata Style
Vishnu’s face is perfectly shaped giving him a truly divine appearance. His face is angular and sharp with his oval eyes almost looking through you with the power of his gaze. He is dressed in royal silk garments and holds in his four hands the sankha (conch), chakra (discus), gada (mace), a fly whisp in his front right hand.
The conch represents “Om”, the first sound of creation and also the beginning of matter, since sound and matter are consider to be synonymous. The discus is thought to represent the sun. Vishnu’s weapon, the mace, represents the elemental force from which all physical and mental powers derive.
His head dress design is called a Kirita Makutam, a head dress in the shape of a large puja bell. Both in his head dress and on his belt is a carving of the god of time Mahakala. Vishnu’s large mace was cast separately and can be removed from the piece.
James Havard Thomas, “Thysis”, 1912, Tate Britain Museum, London
James Havard Thomas trained in Paris and then in 1889 moved to Italy, where he lived for seventeen years. In 1905 he sent a male nude ‘Lycidas’ to the Royal Academy, where its rejection caused a scandal. In 1912 Havard Thomas returned to the theme with ‘Thyrsis’. The title comes from the poem of 1866 by Matthew Arnold of that name, and Arnold’s poem had itself been based on Milton’s ‘Lycidas’ written in 1637.
Thyrsis was an ancient Greek shepherd. Arnold chose to commemorate in his poem a friend from Oxford as this pastoral character. The shepherd’s pipe was for Arnold a symbol of his own youth, and Havard Thomas’s figure itself commemorates Italy and classical art. This bronze was cast in 1948, from the original in wax.
Benvenuto Cellini, “Perseus with the Head of Medusa”, Bronze, 1545, Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy
Artist and Title Unknown, Sculpture on the River Walk in Denver, Colorado
Any information on the artist or sculpture would be appreciated. Thanks.
The Armored Man
Artist Unknown, Fur and Metal: Hearts of Steel
Stone and Bronze Sculptures by Romain Langlois
A self-taught sculptor, Romain Langlois studied medical books and anatomical charts to understand the human body, building his first sculptures using only plaster and clay. Seeking a more permanent material, Langlois turned to bronze, a metal he now incorporates into works that are inspired by nature rather than man.
His pieces visually pull apart the natural objects that surround us—building works that appear as bisected rocks, boulders, and tree trunks. These sculptures showcase glistening bronze protruding from their insides, unleashing the perceived inner energy of each object.