Featured Snow White and Rose Red

Scored this bronze plaque over the weekend. I apologize that it's a bit blurry, but trust that you can make it out. Anyway, it's bronze, by Bradley & Hubbard, and I believe it depicts Snow White and Rose Red lost in the woods. It's based on a German fairy tale which probably had its origins in the 18th Century, and was published in book form ca. 1818. I haven't read it, but I believe the takeaway was to show sisters forging ahead, stronger together. The oak frame has bronze corners which enhance the fantasy aspect, and the whole thing weighs about 30 pounds U.S., which turned out to be too heavy to hang without ripping holes in the wall. Thus it's resting on an easel on the floor.

I've seen similar pieces where the frame is wrapped in felt; in fact Bradley & Hubbard sold them as "plushes." I've seen only two in my years of collecting. But this is the first one that I've seen with the wood grain exposed, and I like it better.

The problem is that I can't find any for sales comparison purposes. I think I got a good price on this, but would appreciate it if any of you sleuths could find any priced examples online, anything at all would be great.

Love ya!

 

Did you find this (rough) comparison? Lohengrin?

https://www.bargainjohn.com/product/plaque-2/

Debora

 

I did not, thanks!

This is roughly in line with what I paid, a little less actually. However, I would opine that my plaque is in much greater relief than that one, which would typically mean that mine is earlier; and perhaps from a higher price point; I would estimate the year of my plaque at ca. 1900. But what do I know?

 

Another rough comparison:

https://www.catawiki.com/nl/l/91922191-relief-scena-galante-31-5-cm-brons

Agree, and also more than the one above. It is a very nice quality casting.

 

44 Euros for that Catawiki bronze seems a deal ! Yep,I agree Ghop-yours is the most elaborate & detailed . As you live with this piece and really get to know it,you may find a legible signature,logo or patent hiding somewhere.
As always with things Ghop- it's superb !

 

it seems...... you know a lot !!!

 

What would we do without our Komo??

 

They are asking, they say French lol
What I know is these were originally hand painted and when you find them original they are pricey.

 

@Sdcookie2

Wow!!! Great work! That is certainly very close, though there is detail work in the trees on mine that I don’t see with the example you found.

So maybe my example is earlier than ca. 1900, or it was put into its frame decades after it was cast. Either way, great results! So excited!!!

 

Looks darn close,except for 'garden sculpture', exterior frieze w/ a wood frame ? Ah well-marketing !

 

I have owed several of these over the years and I don't recall the relief being so extreme. Is yours marked B & H? Here are some examples of them painted

 

No worries,,,,you'd still keep finding these treasures !!!..

 

@Sdcookie2
I don’t see any B&H marking, and I know that they were pretty good about labeling.

In comparing your "garden sculpture" to mine, I now think that yours is missing some tree limbs that mine still has. It looks like they were applied separately. I would say that yours and mine started off life identically, and yours lost some pieces along the way.

I was told that this is Bradley & Hubbard by the seller, who is usually spot-on. But that does not mean he’s infallible. I think your comparison is much more apt, presuming that the California sellers are reliable.

The back of my piece is very old wood. Perhaps a new frame was put on ca. 1900 or perhaps this is the original and it’s been inside rather than in the garden. In closely scrutinizing the piece I believe it has the initials UK on the top of the left-hand girl’s foot, but that may just be an incidental imperfection. Hard to tell.
In any case, I’m still very excited!

 

Here's a photo of the foot in question. Looks like UK to me, but maybe CK? Agree that this does not match the Bradley & Hubbard pieces we've seen so far, including the beautiful painted one.

What I do know is that this is a match to the one you found, @Sdcookie2 . Whether its from France or the UK is not immediately clear, but I do think that it is older than I first supposed, and if your "French garden" example is any indication, has considerably more value than I thought.

Thanks again!!

 

This does not strike me as B&H. Is it really bronze or cast iron? Actually, your last close-up seems to show spelter showing through. I think the B&H is primarily cast iron. They are not usually as high relief as this.

 

@verybrad
The metal is not magnetic, so not cast iron. The piece is heavy at 30+ pounds. Several pieces of the trees have been welded on; spelter is typically too thin to take a weld. Bronze forms a patina which can flake off as it has with these figures. However, it does look kind of speltery where that has happened. Also, the text in the eBay ad states “bronze.”
So I’ll go with bronze on this one, mainly because of the weight and fineness of detail. And yes, not Bradley and Hubbard and very likely northwestern European from the early 19th Century.

 

*Update*

I consulted a dealer experienced in bronze and spelter today. It turns out that we were right about some things, wrong about others. This piece is French, so OK! Also, it’s spelter made with lead - which explains the weight - and not bronze after all. And last, the date is ca. 1870-90, not the early 19th Century. The value is about $1000-$1500, so it’s all good.
Hey, who says evaluating antiques isn’t a science?