Large African Bronze Bust, Head, Antique Benin Eames
15" TALL from ESTATE of ORCHESTRA VIOLINIST, PHILA., PA
Large African Bronze Bust, Head, Antique Benin Eames
Current Price: $51.59
ESTATE SALE ~ NO RESERVE Antique African Bronze Sculpture ANCESTRAL FIGURE, PORTRAIT BUST Antique African Sculpture from Philadelphia Estate ~ 15" TALL ~ Here for your examination is a wonderful, large bronze tribal sculpture. Our local antique shop thinks that it is likely African, late 19th or early to mid 20th century. It has a lot of age...tons of character! I've posted quite a few pictures for you as this piece is rather special. African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of peoples, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. It is said that early African bronze figures were very influential on early 20th century modernist sculptors...especially on Pablo Picasso. Many of Picasso's paintings had faces very reminiscent of these ancestral busts. Sculpture is from a Philadelphia, Pa. Estate Art & Antiques Collection This piece is from the Estate of an orchestra violinist from Philadelphia who spent a lifetime traveling the world performing and collecting art and antiques. Those of you who have been following these estate auctions know the quality and depth of this colleciton which I have the privilege of selling here on Ebay. At the wishes of the principals of the estate, all items are sold without any reserves; each piece is started at less than one dollar so that everyone can participate. I use the auciton format exclusively, no "buy it nows" and I don't accept offers to end auctions early. I believe that this is a wonderful, old late 19th century or early 20th bronze sculpture. Our local antique shop thinks that its Benin (Nigerian) circa 1870-1920. I sold a two similar pieces, but is the last and largest! A knowledgeable Ebayer wrote and thought could also be from the Fon or Senufo tribe. It is a powerful piece, intricately sculpted with fantastic detail. With a bit of research, this could turn out to be a real treasure. At the start of the twentieth century, modernist, expressionist artists like Picasso, Matisse, van Gogh, Gauguin and Modigliani to name a few became aware of, and inspired by, African art. In a situation where the established avant garde was straining against the constraints imposed by serving the world of appearances, African Art demonstrated the power of supremely well organised forms; produced not only by responding to the faculty of sight, but also and often primarily, the faculty of imagination, emotion and mystical and religious experience. The study of and response to African Art, by artists at the beginning of the twentieth century motivated an explosion of interest in the abstraction of forms, and the exploration of emotional and psychological areas previously unexplored in Art. MEASUREMENTS: 15" Tall x 8-1/2" Wide x 7-1/2 Deep Weighs almost 4-1/2 Pounds. This piece definately has some history. Close-up details...scroll to bottom of page. There is plenty of wear, oxydation and patination as you'd expect in such a piece. There is the appropriate wear in all of the right places; the result of handling and touching. This piece would look perfect in any early or mid twentieth century environment as it has a space-age or eames era look. It is modernist style, rather abstract, impressionist in mood. Visual abstraction: African artworks tend to favor visual abstraction over naturalistic representation. This is because many African artworks generalize stylistic norms. The human figure has always been the primary subject matter for most African art, and thus influencing certain European art traditions. This is a very powerful and evocative sculpture. Like impressionist and cubist paintings, the sculpture communicates directly with the viewer and its overall impact that is greater than the sum of the parts. CONDITION: This is an estate piece, a genuine antique sculpture. As such, it has its natural patina; dings, dents, areas of loss, oxydation, small holes & breaks, etc...basically the wear you'd expect and in fact, seek out in such a piece. African art was usually ceremonial and this piece likely saw some useage in its lifetime. It may have been a headress and may have had rings or handles attached to both sides at some point in the past (it was common for these pieces to have had some type of "tie" point to which rope or rafia bindings would have attached. One arm remains and you can see the remnants of such a point of attachment on the sides. In my opinion, this adds tremendous natural character to a piece that is full of history and cultural wonder. I WILL BE LISTING AN AMAZING VARIETY OF ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE, AND OTHER AMAZING ESTATE PIECES OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS--ALL FROM THE ESTATE OF A FORMER PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRA VIOLINIST FROM THE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA AREA. This is an estate piece and is being sold without reserve. It is as is, as it was found. No returns on estate items. Please feel free to ask any questions that you might have, that's what I'm here for. Thanks. This is a rare opportunity to bid on a fine African sculpture presented at auction without reserve. I have sold many fine African sculptures from various tribes and regions such as Bakongo, Bambara, Bemba, Bobo, Bushman, Benin, San, Afar, Makonde, Tanzania, Marimba, Guinea, Gabon, Botswana, Tanzania, Dogon, Fang, Benin Fon, Fulani, Ibos, Nigerian, Massai, Mandinka, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegan, Igbo, Royal bronzes of kings and queens, Senufo, Taureg, Zulu, Yoruba, Bakota, Kota Reliquary figures, carvings, masks, head pieces, granary doors, etc. and fine Asian, American and European sculptures & paintings from this estate...early, vintage and antique art; impressionist, cubist, surrealism, abstract, urban realism, modernist, space age, expressionism, eames, panton, firenze, fauvism, ashcan, expressionist, American, Canadian, Englih, French, Italian, African, Scandinavian, 18th, 19th century European and American, etc. If your looking for fine old 18th, 19th & 20th paintings, or modern, realist, impressionist, Surrealistic, expressionist, fauvist, surrealist early to mid twentieth century works, gallery labeled and museum deassession pieces, please check back each week. I'll be listing antique and vintage art from this estate regularly. I ship at cost; no charge for "handling" and I never charge for packing materials. The cost of shipping is already high enough. The shipping is determined by the Ebay shipping calculator. This fine estate sculpture will be sold without reserve, as is, as found in it's original state. Payment must be made within three days of the end of the auction via Paypal or we reserve the right to relist this item. This piece will be shipped via USPS and I will include full insurance for free. Any damage that occurs in shipping must be taken and shown to your local post office along with the original packaging and buyer must file an insurance claim directly with their post office. There are no returns please. Don't hesitate to ask any questions that you might have; that's what I'm here for. This is an estate item; all sales are final on estate items. Thanks and enjoy the auction! ~~~~~
Large African Bronze Bust, Head, Antique Benin Eames
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