Basket (Chair) Case

This bashful bronze bathing belle peeks through the drapery of her hooded wicker beach chair. Such chairs were often rented to beach goers by the resort hotel or spa and the deluxe versions came with curtains that could be pulled down for further protection again the sun and wind or for just a bit of privacy.  All that can be seen of this demure damsel is her shyly smiling face and her slender feet clad in dainty bathing slippers.

But atop the dome of the chair's "wicker" hood is a little button. . . . Oooh, what does this button do?

It releases a latch, so that the front swings open, revealing that the lovely lass remembered to bring her bathing slippers, but forget to pack the rest of her swimwear. The 7.5 inch-tall mechanical bronze sculpture is softly patinated in several delicate shades. The curtains are a greenish gold and the drapery framing the top edge of the chair is a pale rose. The bare bather's hair, styled in a wavy chignon, and her bathing slippers, tied at the ankle, have a pinkish-gold patina, while her body is a soft gold. She sits on a reddish cushion with golden trim.

The back base of the chair is stamped "Austria" and incised "C. Thenn gesetzlich geschutzt." "C. Thenn" was one of the names used by the Austrian sculptor Carl Kauba. Born in Vienna in 1865, Kauba studied both at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and in Paris. His bronzes are renown for their intricate and realistic detail and the skilled application of multiple colors of patina. He is best known for his images of the American West (although there is some dispute whether he ever actually traveled to America or was simply inspired by the Wild West fantasies of German author Karl May) and his naughty novelty sculptures which went from innocent to improper by pressing a hidden button or lever. "Gesetzlich geschutzt," means that patent rights have been granted and registered for the design.

 

Midnight at the Oasis. . . .

Send your camel to bed

Shadows painting our faces

Traces of romance in our heads

Heaven's holding a half-moon

Shining just for us

Let's slip off to a sand dune, real soon

And kick up a little dust

1973, written by David Nichtern, sung by Maria Muldaur

Completing the theme of erotic bronzes from fin de siècle Austria is this Middle Eastern maiden posing provocatively under a palm tree.  The palm fronds conceal a lightbulb and this lovely lamp is part of a series featuring various Arabic-inspired scenes under a sheltering palm.  Of cold painted bronze, it is unmarked, but is no doubt from one of the many Austrian foundries that produced finely sculpted and cast bronzes in the late 1800s through the 1930s.  A significant number of these bronzes engaged in Orientalism, with fanciful depictions of a mysterious, seductive, and decadent Middle East.  The lamp is 11 inches tall.

A close up of the barely-robed water bearer.  The cold painted patina is susceptible to wear, especially at any protruding edges, revealing glimpses of the gleaming bronze underneath

"Mirror, mirror, in my hand. . . ."

. . . .who is the fairest in the land?"  As posted previously on this blog, there was a fad for artistic smoking paraphernalia in the early 1900s, especially ashtrays of bronze and stone.  This kneeling miss admiring both herself and her necklace in her hand mirror is yet another example.  Although this sculpture is signed only "Austria"on the back of the cushion, I attribute this bronze belle to Bruno Zach (1891–1945), a Ukrainian artist who studied sculpture in Vienna and became renown for his bronze sculptures, many of an erotic nature. The woman's extreme oval, almost egg-shaped, head with delicate sharp features and brushed-back hair is very typical of Zach's early ladies. The use of colored patina, such as the silvering on her stockings and the rose tint on her beads, is also found on many Zach pieces.  Beginning in the mid-19th century, Vienna was the home of many foundries and ateliers producing finely crafted bronzes to adorn the homes and offices of those wishing to subtly display their taste and wealth.  She is 4 inches high and her ashtray base of onyx is 7 inches long.

This close up shows the wonderful details of this diminutive sculpture and the subtle use of patina.