Please help a newcomer: What do you think is this worth?

This statue is a brass depiction of laocoon and his sons. The statue is probably from around 1890 and is 14 inch (36 cm) wide and 17 inch (44 cm) high. It has no signature of the manufacturer. Online auctions sold statues like those for extremely varying prices mostly from 3k to 14k, but those were from bronze not brass. I'm about to pay 1.5k for it. What do you think this is worth? Is this a good deal for 1.5k?
Thank you for helping a newcomer to this community

 

Not happy with the answers you got on reddit?

Any idea what's written there?

 

Better safe than sorry

green rectangle: Not really, I first thought WMF, the north-german bronze manufacterer, but it's not very readable. Only the W or M (if you turn it around) seams clearly readable.

blue rectangle: OH MY GOD, I DID NOT NOTICE THIS! Thank you SO MUCH for the hint. Splendid. Could be "BEFA" or something similar.

Thank you for your time <3

 

Wiest?
A German name would make sense, right?

 

Oh my, sounds plausible :O

 

https://www.dargentleiloes.net.br/peca.asp?ID=17453112&ctd=8&tot=&tipo=4&artista=

several casting differences, with a similar base , stating Bronze...
to my eye it looks cleaner and crisper than yours , but I can't say what it sold for or whether yours is worth the 1.5 K...

 

the scales on your snake ......totally unnecessary , imo...

 

As you probably know, it is a reproduction of the Laocoon in the Vatican Museum with the father's outstretched outstretched arm & the son's arms added in the Renaissance restoration. Today, Laocoon's original bent arm has replaced the outstretched one, and the son's 16th century arms have been removed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laocoön_and_His_Sons

Sorry, I have no idea when "your" statuette was created (except probably before 1957, when the bent arm replaced the outstretched one) or financial value. Numerous copies & variants in many media have been created.

This has absolutely nothing to do with yours, but here is a modern version. Years ago, I was in the Knoxville Museum of Art, looking at paintings in the next room & only caught a brief corner-of-the-eye glimpse of this sculpture, but my impression was that it was a small repro of the Vatican Laocoon. When I actually looked at it, it was a totally abstract sculpture by Julie Conn, and (yes) it was entitled Laocoon. [Sorry, I cannot get the umlaut to work here.]

https://knoxart.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/59034F81-3EA9-4F00-964A-199305597524

 

It’s frustrating to have an unmarked item to search for when there are so many copies of it.

The cast base will cull all others from a visual search, but I find focusing on that is hard. Instead look at the figure on the right, the palm of his hand facing away from his face. This is an easy item to focus on while conducting a visual search.

I believe I have found a linage of style.

The oldest in this style that I’ve found is this by Francesco Fanelli (1590 - 1653).
It has similar hand gesture and serpent scales.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auc...buted-to-francesco-fanelli-1590-1653-attribue

The next is much closer, it is described just as 18th/19th C. Italian Bronze. It has all the matching elements, including the size of your statue, and it surpasses in quality.
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...bronze-laocoon-group-statue-1105-c-d774c71a5c

I’d say that yours is a descendant of the above.

 

Thank you to everyone for the very helpful answers. <3