Edition #12: Cold Painted Bronze
Warning: These figures may spark an obsession.
Bronze has long been a valued medium in the art world, with incredibly famous sculptures dotting museums and galleries around the globe. This week, we’re taking a look at the more demure application of bronze casting: cold painted bronze. Each of these figures are cast in bronze and painted using “dust paint”, which allows the paint to stick without having to be fired, hence the name cold painted. The technique of cold painting gained popularity during the Art Deco period and is most often associated with Franz Bergmann, who produced these cold painted bronze figures in Austria and was renown for his work on over 10,000 molds. Some of those produced were modeled after characters by Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit, but beware of fakes!
Antique Viennese bronze lizard Cold painted bronze on eBay: The detail in the skin of this lizard is insane. It looks real or at least stuffed, and not just cast in bronze and painted.
Franz Bergman cold painted bronze Lady On Tiger Skin, c1905/10 on eBay: One of the things Bergman was known for was using his initials or a palindrome of his last name on his more…erotic sculptures. This is really a great mantel piece.
Art Deco Cold Painted Bronze Bookends-1930s on Etsy: Most bookends these days are boring, but not these guys. I can only imagine the chaos if you owned these as well as owning an actual cockatiel.
Antique Vienna Bronze Cold Painted Boston Terrier Dog Figurine ~ 4" on eBay: I MEAN??? Does this need an explanation?
Life follows a rhythm and we hold the drum,The Countess said giving Wickham an Antique Vienna Bronze Pug With Drum.Rum Pa Pa PUG! he replied on Etsy: Did I chose this example purely because of the Etsy product name, maybe. Regardless, I cannot get over the determination of this dogs face to play the drums.
Vtg Bergman Style Cold-Painted Bronze-Metal Weight-lifting Frog Candle-holder on eBay: This was one of the only candle holders I saw, but it really is magnificent.
Austrian Bronze Two Frogs Reading Music on Etsy: This is giving very much Frog and Toad energy, but also Budweiser frogs.
Austrian Cold Painted Bronze Miniature Samuel Whiskers Figurine- Vintage Vienna, Austria Cold Painted Bronze Beatrix Potter Figurine on Etsy: Like I said above, some Potter figures have been aged by time and some by force, so be careful. This grumpy guy is named Samuel Whiskers and would be perfect set on a windowsill.
Vienna Bronze Hand Painted "Frog Prince" Fritz Berman Two Available on Etsy: Okay fine, one more frog. But this is the Frog Prince and I think that deserves some attention.
Austrian Bronze Pug Dog Jester Inkwell on Etsy: Look at his face. No one in 2024 has the need for an inkwell, and yet, I want this on my desk so that I can pretend to dip my pen into the open crevice beneath this bewildered pug’s head.
Honorable Mentions:
What terms were searched:
Cold painted bronze
Enamel bronze figures
Bergmann bronze
Austrian bronze
Welcome to Finder’s Keepers
This is the newsletter dedicated to leaving no vintage stone unturned. Each edition will cater to a rabbit hole that I fell down one night and include an assortment of vintage finds that make you question “Why did anyone own this?” followed quickly by “Should I own this?”
My method is simple: I attach a keyword or phrase to the item and go digging, spending hours each week combing through hundreds of pages of Etsy and Ebay bric-a-brac until I’ve seen it all. It’s chaotic but satisfactory, like looking through every rack and bin at a thrift store for those of us that partake in the more visceral act of going in person. I also like to sit on my couch.