Signed Royal Vienna Neoclassical Pedestal Vases with Mythological Scenes
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A pair of signed Royal Vienna pedestal vases on stands, painting signed both a. Heer and F. Heer, late 19th century, the pair of neoclassical urns with high set brilliantly gilded handles and raised on a spreading circular base with moulded zoomorphic feet, decorated to the body with pairs of medallions depicting mythological figural scenes after Angelica Kauffman upon a bright cobalt blue ground, with formal gilded decorations, the stands similarly decorated, with blue beehive or shield mark underside. With slight wear to the gilding, in otherwise good condition as catalogued, height: 38 cm
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- Zoomorphic - Objects made having the shape, form, or likeness of an animal. For example, the Hindu god Ganesha has the head of an elephant.
The term is also applied to furniture made from animal parts. Examples are chandeliers, hallstands and chairs made from deer antlers and umbrella stands, ice buckets and other objects made from an elephant's foot. - Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
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