Lot 139
Western Europe, likely France or Northern Italy, Renaissance Revival, ca. 1870 to 1900 CE. A magnificent cast-brass fountain group featuring two back-to-back wyverns coiled around a central flared sleeve. Each fantastical creature displays muscular bodies covered in overlapping scales, ribbed necks arched in serpentine tension, and horned heads with open jaws from which water once issued. Their broad, perforated wings flare outward like shields, recalling the armorial motifs of medieval heraldry, while their tails twist and knot together in a sinuous embrace at the base. The group is composed of a leaded tin brass alloy - approximately 75% copper, with notable zinc and tin content - consistent with late 19th century foundry practice in France and Italy, when industrial casting techniques allowed for such crisp modeling and complex multi-part assembly.
Size: 26" L x 10.5" W x 20.5" H (66 cm x 26.7 cm x 52.1 cm)
The internal fittings and hose hookups, emerging through the mouths and underside, confirm its original function as a plumbed fountain element, likely forming the lower register of a garden or courtyard display where water would rise through the central column and spill elegantly from the dragons' mouths.
This sculptural design embodies the taste for Renaissance and Gothic Revival ornament that swept through European decorative arts during the latter half of the 19th century. Foundries such as Val d Osne, Durenne, and Ducel produced elaborate architectural bronzes and fountains populated with mythic beasts drawn from medieval bestiaries and classical fantasy. Whether French or North Italian in origin, this piece captures that same exuberant imagination - fusing technical mastery with the romantic spirit of revivalist art, in which dragons once again guarded the thresholds of gardens and fountains.
PROVENANCE: private Colorado, USA collection
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Item #
196872
- Condition: Professionally repaired and restored with break lines visible in some areas. Weathering to surface with nicks and abrasions commensurate with age as shown.
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