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November/December 2007 Product Spotlight:
Lost Wax Casting and Repoussé
Olde World Wrought Iron Fire Screen, Finely Cast Sherwood Brass Scroll and Leaf Motif

Item: 1351-324

Selected for this holiday season’s newsletter, our wrought iron and finely cast brass fireplace screen is a natural choice for inclusion in this issue. Perhaps second only to the Christmas tree as a focal point, the fireplace takes on added significance at this time of year.

The hand-forged scrolling iron armature features lost wax cast acanthus leaf appliqués and floral sprigs. The whole is supported by a four-footed base for added stability. The brass is finished in our popular Sherwood brass patina which compliments the Olde World finish of the wrought iron.

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Finely Cast Dusty Blue Patina Brass Race Car Model

Item:1054-820

Our finely cast solid brass model of a 1960’s Mercedes Benz Le Mans race car would make a fine gift for any car enthusiast. Weighing in at over five pounds it would make a unique paper weight or desk appointment.

The car is finished in a dusty blue hand rubbed oxidized patina.

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Silver-plated Brass and Penshell Crackle Lizard

Item: 1054-166

Hand crafted in our own workrooms this lizard was inspired by the jewel encrusted scatter pins and brooches worn by ladies of fashion during the early part of the twentieth century. The inspiration is the Art Nouveau style. The design is typical of the era’s fascination with insects, reptiles and flower forms which naturally possessed the curves and whiplash lines popular with designers of the period.

Our lost wax cast lizard is silver plated and has a hand-inlaid mosaic back of crackled young penshell designed to emulate the animal’s reticulated scales.

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Golden Bronze Patina Brass Female Figure Table Torchere, White Stone Shade, Stone Base

Item: 1753-835

This forty-two inch tall table torchere is a unique Maitland-Smith adaptation of an Art Deco design. The Art Deco period flourished between the First and Second World War and influenced both architecture and the decorative arts. It used the prevailing modern design of airplanes and automobiles as its inspiration. The air stream or streamlined sensibility of industrial design was adopted by trend-setting designers to create a new, very modern set of shapes and forms. New materials like aluminum, glass bricks and machine-aided production helped reflect the maturity of the industrial age.

Our table lamp echoes this new design direction. The finely cast brass female figure is typical of this style.

The hand inlaid hexagonal marble base adds stability to this dramatically posed figure. The hand cut and inlaid shade is made of translucent white fossil stone.

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Finely Cast Verdigris Patina Brass Birds on Limb Lamp, Inlaid Penshell Shade

Mother Nature is the inspiration for this solid brass and inlaid penshell table lamp. The sinuous lines of a tree limb are used as an armature to support both the crackle penshell flower form shade as well as the lost wax cast leaves and birds.

The hand inlaid rectangular marble base enables the tree branch to cantilever from it. The simple geometry of the base is designed to highlight the natural organic forms of this unique design. The verdigris patina of the brass elements suggests Mother Nature’s palette.

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Item: 1753-886

 
Black Finished Iron and Cast Pompeian Brass Console Table, Dark Snakeskin Stone Top

Hand crafted in wrought iron and finely cast Pompeii patinated solid brass, this demilune console table is neoclassic in style. Based on the decorative arts of ancient Greece and Rome, the table echoes the enduring heritage of two of Western civilization’s most influential cultures. The table’s top features a hand cut and inlaid marble top quarried in the Philippines. The coloration is a warm brown shot through with ochre veins.

Handcrafted from durable high quality materials, the table’s height makes it appropriate for holiday entertaining.

Item: 3451-331

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Finely Cast Antique Bronze Patina Brass Dolphin Soap Dish

This solid brass dolphin and shell soap dish is high Roman neoclassic. It is based on surviving bronze and carved marble examples found as architectural elements. In this case, we have adapted the dolphin motif as a support for a shell-shaped dish. The dolphin has always been considered a friend of the seafarer and an emblem of the Roman Empire’s domination of the Mediterranean.

The design is an example of how, in the hands of a sculptor, a familiar animal can be redesigned for a particular effect.

Our decorative object is hand made using the lost wax cast technique. This solid brass, highly detailed functional accessory is finished in an antique bronze patina.

Item: 2153-949

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Set of Four Antique Patina Hammered Brass Wall Panels, Wood Frames

This set of four hammered brass wall plaques with distressed Olde World finished wood frames offers an alternative decorative solution to the expected print or oil painting. The simple geometry of each square lends itself to a variety of display configurations. The set of four panels can add architectural detail to a room as well as provide a subtle, noncompetitive image accent when needed.

The proper term for this hammered traditional technique is repoussé. It is favored by silversmiths and artisans who patiently transform flat sheets of metal by raising the design from the back.

Item: 1430-281P

Each panel has a different traditional rosette decoration. Like the frame, the solid brass images are antiqued to a warm golden finish.

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