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EXTRAORDINARY ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU BRONZE LADY WALL PLAQUE by Mucha!

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Art Nouveau790 of 3274KRALIK GOLD BACCILUS BOWLCraigslist find. 1898 Hotel Albany advertising inkstand
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    Posted 7 years ago

    Hyp-storian
    (40 items)

    I bought this gorgeous ORIGINAL c. 1890's/1900 bronze wall plaque as a Christmas present for my wife, and love it myself as well. It measures an impressive 8 3/4 inches (22 cm.) and is marked on the back "GESETZLICH GESCHUTZ" and with the number 2059. It weighs almost 3 pounds! I'm guessing it's possibly Austrian, or maybe German manufacture?

    The fourth picture is another version of the same exact plaque that's partially "colored" and clearly signed by Mucha on the lower left shoulder (it can be seen if you enlarge the scan), The link to this was most kindly provided by czechglass5 (see her comment with link below).

    Aside from 2 very minor dents (at the bottom at about 6:25 and 6:40), this plaque is in fantastic condition, and my wife and I feel very fortunate to have acquired it...!

    Thanks for looking!

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    Comments

    1. welzebub welzebub, 7 years ago
      Gorgeous piece.

      GESETZLICH GESCHUTZ is a marking indicating it is a "registered" or "patented" design, protected by law at the time of production. 2609 is likely a pattern or mold number.
    2. welzebub welzebub, 7 years ago
      I typed the number wrong... :-)
    3. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Thanks welzebub!
      I knew what "geschutz" meant, but am hoping that someone out there knows if this is a Mucha piece, or can perhaps match that pattern number to a specific date.
    4. SEAN68 SEAN68, 7 years ago
      Fabulous gift !! Wow!!
    5. scottvez scottvez, 7 years ago
      Beautiful plaque-- really shows quality!

      scott
    6. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Thanks Sean & Scott- much appreciated!
    7. SEAN68 SEAN68, 7 years ago
      your very welcome Hyp-storian.
    8. Peasejean55 Peasejean55, 7 years ago
      This is amazing.
    9. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Thanks Peasejean...!
    10. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      czechglass5,

      Thank you SO much for providing this link and confirming it...!!!
      ; - )
    11. kyratango kyratango, 7 years ago
      Wow! That's fantastic!!!
      CW people are of so much help too! Kudos to you, czechglass5 :-)
    12. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Yes, kyratango, kudos to czechglass5! I did what I thought was a very thorough search on the internet and came up empty, but she somehow managed to solve the mystery!
    13. billretirecoll billretirecoll, 7 years ago
      Very nice! Again CW people come though with the answers to our questions!
      Good job czechglass5!
      Thanks for the post of your beautiful plaque Hyp-storian, it worked! :^)
    14. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Thanks Bill- much appreciated!
    15. ho2cultcha ho2cultcha, 7 years ago
      i'm amazed!
    16. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Thanks ho2cultcha- same here!
    17. cogito cogito, 7 years ago
      This piece is not by Mucha, but is Mucha-inspired. The Byzantine woman seen here was a very popular motif, first created by Mucha, but then used for everything from biscuit tins, plaques and platters.
    18. cogito cogito, 7 years ago
      By Mucha-inspired, I mean that it was not rendered/sculpted by Mucha, but would have been signed so as to not infringe upon any French trade mark.
    19. cogito cogito, 7 years ago
      Also, I would add that the original image of the Byzantine woman was likely modeled by Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha's muse and important patron.
    20. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      O.k., cogito- thanks for the clarification!
    21. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Hi czechglass5,

      No, I wasn't aware of that page/link until you provided it, so thank you once again!
      ; - )
    22. welzebub welzebub, 7 years ago
      I agree with Cogito. It is a great example of a piece done in the "style" of Alphonse Mucha. We collect Mucha Prints and you see a lot of pieces done in a "stylistically similar" aesthetic, but not actually his work. Still, this is a great piece..... I made a major mistake though.... I showed it to my wife. :-)
    23. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Welzebub,

      You never should have shown that to your wife- what's the matter with you?!
      ; - )
    24. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      czechglass5,

      Wow, you must be some kind of detective (interpol?)...; - )

      It looks almost exactly the same as mine (rather, my wife's), aside from the finish. Hard to tell if that one is bronze from the photos (looks more like a gray metal?), and WHY did they refinish the other (companion) plaque- it looks terrible!
    25. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      czechglass5,

      Well, you are REALLY good at researching- that's for sure!
      There is actually no "silver application" on mine- it's all bronze, but the raised parts are more polished bronze while the rest has a darker patina from age. Perhaps it looks more like "silver" on your computer monitor (?). My son-in-law (computer expert) explained to me that the exact colors I see on MY screen do not have to be the same as what other people see because there can be differences in tone and shade depending on various settings.

      I agree that the "pewter" plaque doesn't look nearly as nice as my bronze one (in fact, the pewter actually looks "new"!), and the refinished one is more or less ruined (in my opinion at least).
    26. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Yes, the "actual" color is about halfway between the first 2 pictures. The difference was most likely caused by the camera settings the seller used (I just copied the seller's photos). I've no idea if it was manufactured with the "polished" highlights or if someone did that themselves (seems to me it came that way or it would have taken a LOT of work to achieve that!), but my wife and I think it's gorgeous. Much nicer, in our opinion, than either the "painted" version or the pewter version (looks like gray spray paint!).
      Some other people might feel the other way though...

    27. welzebub welzebub, 7 years ago
      Having run an auction for a living, and also having personal experience with period bronze pieces, it is my opinion that both of the pieces being offered by the German seller are modern reproductions of older work. Neither of those examples are of the quality or the age of this example shown here.
    28. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      Thanks for sharing that welzebub- that's definitely the same impression that I had, but without any experience (like yours) to base it on- just my gut feeling.
    29. welzebub welzebub, 7 years ago
      Simple answer. Because they cast it using an original with the correct markings. You would cast the entire thing in a cheap one off mold process for the front and back. Anyone doing it in that manner is making them in an attempt to deceive, and not to simply knock them off for resale.

      The Indonesians do it for all kinds of knock off bronze reproductions, and ebay sellers offer them disingenuously.

      There are much more detailed examples of this form currently for sale on Etsy for around 12-15 dollars each. Your choice of color, with several different finishing options. You can buy a pair of the plaques made to order for you. They are cast in a resin that has much better detail than the bad knockoffs the German seller is offering.

      The German examples were produced to deceive. The Etsy examples are produced for decoration and offered honestly with no deception of any kind intended.
    30. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      welzebub,

      In other words: caveat emptor...!!
      I see this kind of thing FREQUENTLY with all kinds of so-called "antique" bronzes- especially the animal miniatures supposedly by Franz Bergman. It really is despicable to deceive people like that, and it must be quite lucrative because there are so MANY fakes & forgeries being sold...
    31. welzebub welzebub, 7 years ago
      As stated above by Cogito, a position I agree with, the item was produced in the style of, or inspired by Mucha's Byzantine Woman, but is not actually a piece of Mucha's work.
    32. welzebub welzebub, 7 years ago
      I would add that the German sellers title states "after" Alfonse Mucha, "nach" indicating that they are not being represented as actual Mucha work, only as period (ca 1900) pieces in the style of Mucha.
    33. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      I'd just like to add that THIS one, though not actually "issued" by Mucha himself, IS 100% period authentic and absolutely original (1897 - 1900).
      I think if it was actually "manufactured" by Mucha then it would have cost somewhere in the 4, or maybe even 5, digits...; - )
    34. Hyp-storian, 7 years ago
      And thank YOU for your extremely helpful research...; - )

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