Tag: metal work

Ceremonial Kapala

Ceremonial Kapala, Tibet, southwestern China, Ca 19th century CE.

Used in both Hindu, Tantra, and Buddhist tantric ceremonies, the kapala is a cup used as a ritual bowl. They are usually carved or elaborately mounted with precious metals and jewels. Many of the deities of Vajrayana, or tantric Buddhism, or depicted carrying the kampala, usually in their left hand.

The ceremonial kampala shown here is a horned goat skull ornamented with white metal applique and glass. 12″L x 6-½”H.

Reblogged with thanks to http://virtual-artifacts.tumblr.com

Smith and Wesson Revolver

Tiffany and Company, Ornate Smith and Wesson New Model No. 3 Revolver, late 19th century

In 1885, the Smith & Wesson Company expanded their production program with the New Model No, 3, which introduced a variation of this revolver with a long cylinder capable of firing a .44 Winchester cartridge. Previously Colt had produced a revolver of this caliber which could be paired with the Winchester Lever Action Rifle. Smith & Wesson liked this idea; their factory eventually produced 2072 revolvers of this style.  

The sales of this revolver, however, did not meet expectations. In March of 1895, when the factory still had over half of the production unsold, Smith & Wesson transformed this model from the .44 caliber Winchester to the .44 caliber Smith & Wesson Russian. Retooling of the firearm was accomplished with a replacement cylinder. By 1896, forty percent of the inventory was retooled and sold to Takata & Company in Japan. In this way, the total number of New Model No. 3 was reduced to circa 1286 pieces.The company offered this model until 1908 when the revolver was replaced with the new Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector .44.

The Tiffany-crafted New Model No. 3 shown above is currently on display in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Oluf Gravesen

Sculptures by Oluf Gravesen

Oluf Gravesen was a Danish visual artist, both in printmaking and in sculpture. In 1961 the 18-year-old Gravesen became the youngest person to be admitted to the Danish Royal Academy’s Spring Exhibition at Charlottenborg, exhibiting three small scrap metal reliefs.

A successful solo exhibition at Den Permanente in the mid-60s brought his work to the attention of Copenhagen’s stylists and led to its inclusion in room settings for their promotions. Later he worked on his artworks, all made entirely of nails, in Paris, London and New York.

Gravesen’s exile meant he was not widely known in Denmark, so when he returned home from New York in the mid-1980s with a deadly disease, his tragically premature death was marked only by his family and closest friends and came, in the words of Pittsburgh’s Concept Art Gallery, “before he could see the influence his work would have on the late 20th and early 21st century New York art scene”.

The Carpeaux Fountain

The Carpeaux Fountain at Jardin Marco Polo, South of the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th Arrondissement of Paris

The central axis of the Luxemburg Garden is extended, beyond its wrought iron grill and gates opening to rue Auguste Comte, by the central esplanade of the rue de l’Observatoire, officially the Jardin Marco Polo, where sculptures of the four Times of Day alternate with columns and culminate at the southern end with the 1874 “Fountain of the Observatory”, also known as the “Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde” or the “Carpeaux Fountain”, for its sculptures by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. It was installed as part of the development of the avenue de l’Observatoire by Gabriel Davioud in 1867.

The bronze fountain represents the work of four sculptors: Louis Vuillemot carved the garlands and festoons around the pedestal, Pierre Legrain carved the armillary with interior globe and zodiac band; the animalier Emmanuel Fremiet designed the eight horses, marine turtles and spouting fish. Most importantly Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpted the four nude women supporting the globe, representing the Four Continents of classical iconography.

Igor Mitoraj

Igor Mitoraj, Bronze Doors at Saint Maria Degli Angeli, Rome, Italy

The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs ( Santa Maria Degli Angeli e dei Martiri) is a titular basilica church in Rome, Italy built inside the frigidarium of the Baths of Diocletian in the Piazza della Repubblica.

Igor Mitoraj was a Polish artist born in Oederan, Germany. Having previously worked with terracotta and bronze, a trip to Carrara, Italy, in 1979 turned him to using marble as his primary medium and in 1983 he set up a studio in Pietrasanta. In 2006, he created the new bronze doors and a statue of John the Baptist for the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome.

The right hand bronze door depicts the Resurrection, and the left hand door the Annunciation. Most of the surfaces of both doors are blank, showing textured and patinated metal, but out of the surfaces emerge dismembered figures and heads as if they were floating in water. The three figures of Christ, Our Lady and the Archangel Gabriel have arms amputated, and this detail is an allusion to the damaged Classical statues that used to be displayed in the adjacent museum. The figure of Christ is further divided into four by two slashes in the form of a cross.

Thanks to http://deaprojekt.tumblr.com for the reblog of the top image.

Maggi Hambling

Maggi Hambling, “ A Conversation with the Sea”, Steel, Aldeburgh, England

The sculture is made from stainless steel and is a celebration of the composer Benjamin Britten who lived in the area. The words stencilled onto the tip of one of the scallop shells read “I hear those voices that will not be drowned” and are taken from Britten’s opera “Peter Grimes”. The twelve foot high sculpture is made of 10mm-thick stainless steel, with five tons of shingle between it and its foundation, which is also of steel. It will withstand gales of 100 miles an hour.

The scallop-shaped sculpture was built thanks to the enthusiastic support and fund-raising efforts of Simon Loftus, an influential figure in the Aldeburgh music festival and the chairman of Adnams, the famous brewery in Southwold, up the coast from Aldeburgh.

Lion Aquamanile

Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion, Copper Alloy, Made in Nuremberg, 1400, Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This proud and alert lion was created using the lostwax (cire perdue) method. Wax is molded around a rough clay model into the desired form of the sculpture, coated in turn with a mixture of brick, clay, and ashes, then melted out to create space for the molten metal. The rear edges of all four legs have been notched and engraved to suggest fur, while the long mane covering the entire chest has been rendered in low relief and incised to achieve surface detail. Small dragons form the spigot and handle.

Dustin Payne

Dustin Payne, “Prairie Allies”, Bronze Monument

Dustin Payne represents the third generation of professional western sculptors in his family, so it comes as no surprise that the trade was a natural path for him. On his mother’s side he is a descendant of Hiram Daugherty and Mary Jane Goodnight, the sister of Texas Cattle King, Charlie Goodnight. Goodnight and Oliver Loving brought the first longhorns across country from Texas, inaugurating the cattle drive era.

As a child, Dustin enjoyed the drawings and books of Will James and was heavily influenced by the historical nature of his father and grandfather’s work. He feels fortunate that he has always been surrounded by such great artists and mentors, but more-so by being brought up around horses and ranching. His passion for the Western lifestyle and Western American history fuels his imagination to preserve the past in the art that he creates. He currently resides and works in Cody, Wyoming.