Style Louis-Philippe / Ref.10094

Jean-François GECHTER - "Warriors at rest", an exceptional bronze fire fender

The quality of sculpture, the care for detail and variety of treatment of the surfaces, are the remarkable work of the Romantic sculptor Jean-François Gechter. On the left, a bearded warrior wearing a helmet, his arm resting on a battle-axe, sits leaning against a tree, from which hang a standard, an axe, a chain, a mace, a flail, a spear etc… Fully dressed in a mail coat and armour, his features tight and determined, this warrior is prepared for combat. On the right, another warrior also leans against a tree his left hand resting on his helmet the other on the handle of his flail. The tree is equally laden with war apparel: shield, standard, chain, axe, mace, gloves etc… This proud warrior is full of energy and truly seems poised for an upcoming combat. Both characters rest on highly decorative volutes adorned with laurel and oak leaves. The firedogs are linked by a ramp with a central victorious trophy, symbolised by a shield, a pair of battle-axes, a horn and flail balls, framed by laurel leaves.

The remarkable quality of sculpture especially in the treatment of details in the mail coats, the weapons, hands and faces immediately refer to the work of Jean-François Gechter or to his strong influence. The theme of warriors ready for war enabled him to study on one hand the inner turmoil of expectation, the built-up energy ready to be released in combat, and the other medieval arms. This piece is a virtuoso’s example of different sculptural techniques, using a wide variation of rough, chiselled to smooth surfaces. This piece can only naturally be linked to the famous group sculpture by Gechter Charles Martel and Abderam, King of the Saracens presented at the Salon of 1833, a three piece mantel ornament with a central clock and a pair of candelabra, because of the extraordinary similarities in the theme, the quality and techniques and most importantly the same attention to variation in the treatment of surfaces. All these qualities lead us to believe this piece was produced by Gechter before 1844, cast prior to 1860.

Follow this link to read our blog post dedicated to this exceptional fire fender by GECHTER.