OFFERED BY: Marcie Thueringer Antiques and Fine Collectibles, Woodinville, WA.
FOUND AT: February 2003 Hillsborough Antique Show, San Mateo, Ca.
PRICE TAG: $1,695.00
By
Carlton Hendricks
Today’s feature is what is known as a Vienna Bronze. Vienna bronzes, produced in Vienna, the capital city of Austria,…you know, the country Arnold’s from,…are known for their fine detail, small size, and colorful finishes. They were produced from about 1850-1920, in many subjects and are usually between one and five inches tall. Vienna bronzes are often referred to as being cold painted, or polychrome, which essentially just means they were hand painted at the studio or factory. Good sports ones are very rare, and I believe this example is the rarest of the tennis ones.
I once saw just the man of this, on eBay, tennis racquet in hand, and because I’d never seen the entire piece, didn’t know quite what to make of it. Thereafter my friend John Buonaguidi and his wife Debra were at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport Rhode Island, where they happened to snap a photo of the one in the collection there. After seeing the photo I was able to place the piece I’d seen on
eBay. As I recall it sold for around $200 to $300.
click
photo to enlarge
Display At The International Tennis Hall of
Fame Newport Rhode Island
Photo
by Debra Buonaguidi
This is a pretty exciting piece, and based on its rarity and
quality, I believe the $1,695 price tag to be a bargain. I know of a
baseball one that sold in the $10,000 range, though it was nicer, at a
show in Los Angeles about five years ago.
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click
photo to enlarge
Circa
1900 Vienna Baseball Bronze |
Also I saw another Vienna
tennis piece on eBay within the last year or so, of a man and woman, about the same quality, with a reserve of around $2,200. So $1,695 seemed pretty reasonable considering it’s the first complete
example I’ve seen for sale, plus it’s in excellent
condition.
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