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jasfind

Old Bronze

jasfind
12 years ago

Hi all.Sometimes it seems getting info on an item is just not going to happen.This piece is app. 9 X 7 1/2 inches. It is heavy for it's size at 14 lbs.In the one shot,is that a name or just a doodle. Any ideas on who,when,were and what. Thank you

john

Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket

Comments (11)

  • lazy_gardens
    12 years ago

    Looks like a name ... but doesn';t look like English letters.

    Maybe Greek?

    Nice piece

  • colleenoz
    12 years ago

    I think you'll find it is Kairos, the god of the opportune moment. His hair is long in front and short behind because you should seize an opportunity as it approaches- grab it by the forelock- because after the opportunity passes there is nothing to seize.

  • colleenoz
    12 years ago

    The name is also spelled Chiros.

  • jasfind
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hey all,thank you.So this would be hanging where?.It certainly looks like Kai???.For a while (after I bought it),I thought it might be graveyard art.I curse myself if. it is. Your thoughts clear my mind .
    john

  • colleenoz
    12 years ago

    Images of Kairos are a common souvenir of Trogir in Croatia as they have a famous ancient Greek original stone carving. I suspect your bronze may be something along these lines, a souvenir from somewhere along the Mediterranean coast.
    If you have a look at the Greek alphabet link I have appended you will see the lower case "ros" part looks more like "poo" where the last "o" has a line running off the top of the loop like a cursive "o" would. So it looks a lot like what is on your bronze.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Greek alphabet chart

  • jasfind
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi Colleenoz. No doubt you may be onto a thought. But how many slock tourist items are 14 lbs of hard bronze.Even "back when",who want's to pack that. Now sure,if passed off as "great art" to the sucker,maybe they would haul it home(of course customs might give them the fish eye).I think most on this site knows tourist trash.Bronze filled with plaster,etc.If their making this in Croatia,it must be a new form of "trench art" (used war brass empty shells).Who knows.Thank you
    john

  • colleenoz
    12 years ago

    Not all souvenirs are schlock tschotschkes. In Viet Nam, for example, they produce marble statuary as souvenirs for the discerning buyer which are not easily tucked into a suitcase :-) You can have souvenirs which _are_ nice pieces, not cheap rubbish.

  • jasfind
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi Colleenoz. There is truth in your words. BTW,our uncle Sam had me "vacationing" in Nam mid 66 to mid 67.I brought myself home as a souvenir..
    When I think of souvenirs,I think junk. Now-a-days ,all that crap comes from China.Hell maybe in China you can buy a item made in....humm no.
    When I think bronze, art antiques etc. ,I don't put those items in the tourist category.Shopping for these items require thought ( when buying at store prices),and you would not want to make a mistake.Buying on a second-hand basis allows risks and mistakes.
    So the hunt goes on. Much thanks
    john

  • sweeby
    12 years ago

    Weren't Canlettos generally souvenirs?

  • lindac
    12 years ago

    I think the problem is in the definition of "souvenirs". Seems we think of souvenirs as junk from a souvenir shoppe often with the name or the place on the piece.
    Canelottos were souvenirs in that his original market was Englishmen traveling in the early 18th century, when an entourage toured with the traveler.

    Perhaps what you have is a bronze casting of an old image of Kairos from some architectural bas relief. In which case the artist was the original likely unknown sculptor and the atelier where it was made is unknown.
    But I think it unlikely that some traveler tucked that into their suitcase!

  • jasfind
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi . I confess ,I know how the English canoodle. But Canelottos are beyond my can-a-do-it
    john