Bronze and Slate Urns on Alabaster Stands
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Alabaster - Alabaster is soft natural stone used for statuary, with a similar appearance to marble, but easier to work with. As it is softer than marble, an item made from alabaster can be scratched with a metal object, and an alabaster item does not polish to a high surface gloss like marble.
Alabaster objects can be semi-translucent. Alabaster occurs in a pure white form and also with veining from dirt. Colours vary from white through yellow and pink to brown. The veining is usually green or black but can be multicoloured.
Being semi-translucent, alabaster is often used for the bowls of figural lamps, with the figure itself being either alabaster or marble. - Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A Sevres pattern porcelain and bronze mounted vase, French, circa 1900 painted with a maiden and cherubs 84 cm high
Pair of antique silver pepper castors 13 cm high approx, 150 grams approx
A pair of cast bronze figural torcheres, mounted as lamps, early 19th century, the loosely draped females, each with a raised arm and gilded foliate surmount, standing on marble columns with gilt laurel leaf surround, black marble stepped plinths, non inva
A pair of Japanese bronze lanterns, modified for electricity, 63.5 cm high