Marcel Kammerer (1878-1959) Austria
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna
Pedestal with four-ball shelf, circa 1905.
Ebonized beech.
Marks: Thonet (original paper label).
For more information on Thonet see: Thonet Bentwood & Other Furniture, Christopher Wilk introd. (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1980) (reprint of the original 1904 catalogue); Casa Thonet, Storia dei mobili in legno curvato, Giovanna Massobrio, Paolo Portoghesi(Roma: Editori Laterza, 1980); Against the Grain: Bentwood Furniture from the Collection of Fern and Manfred Steinfeld, Ghenete Zelleke, Eva B. Ottilinger and Nina Stritzler (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993).
H: 46 3/4”
D top: 12”
D base: 13 1/2”
Shelf: 9 3/4″ x 10”
Price: $14,000
CHARLES GREBER France
“Chameleons” vase c. 1905
Stoneware with crystalline-structure glaze in creamy white beige and blue tones with floral motifs and three full scale chameleons perched on the edge.
Marks: C. Greber (incised script)
H: 6 1/4″ x Dia: 7 1/2″
The potter-sculptor has awakened Darwin’s theory of evolution with this vase and has furthermore humanized these reptiles with an amusing sense of cameraderie.
GUSTAV GURSCHNER (1873-1970) Austria
Vase c. 1905
Cast bronze ovoid shaped vase with decorative Celtic motif, lightly gilded, the body of the vase simulating leather with a rich brown patina
Signed: GURSCHNER, M180 (stamped in the bronze)
Related works illustrated: The Studio, Special Summer Number 1906: The Art Revival in Austria, ill. no. D6; Studio Yearbook (London, 1909), pp. 139-140; Vienna Turn of the Century: Art and Design, Fischer Fine Art, exhib. cat. (London 1979), p. 23, illus. 1; Bronzes, sculptors & Founders, H. Berman, (Atglen 1994 III) p. 781, cat. nos. 2893, 2894; Decorative Art 1880-1980, Dan Klein & Margaret Bishop (Oxford, England: Phaidon and Christie’s Limited, 1986) p. 84, illus. 1
H: 7 1/4″ x D: 7″ x D: 4″
Price: $14,500
Gustav Gurschner was born in Tirol, Austria. He attended the Fachschule für Holzindustrie in Bozen from 1885-1888. After three years, his instructors encouraged him to attend the Austrian Museum for Applied Arts’ Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna. After finishing his formal training, Gurschner pursued a career as a sculptor of monumental works. It was while he was in Paris in 1897, that he first turned his energies from the application of small-scale, sculptural works to the aesthetic design of household objects. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Vienna to join the Secessionists whose ideals he shared. By the turn-of-the-century, Gurschner was not only one of the better known artists working in Vienna but enjoyed a reputation that extended into other European countries as well.
Albert Edward Jones (1879-1954) Birmingham, UK
British Arts & Crafts Movement
Footed box with hinged lid and hasp 1905
Hand wrought and patinated copper with riveted strap work and hasp, inset with 4 cabochons of lapis lazuli, brown leather and wood interior.
This box is a particularly handsome example of British arts & crafts metalwork by the famous designer / craftsman A.E. Jones. It retains its original deep, rich chocolate brown patina with the contrasting cobalt blue large round bezel-set cabochons of lapis lazuli.
H: 2 1/2″ x D: 4 3/4″ x W: 6 1/2″