Viennese cold-painted bronze lamp of an Arab by a campfire by Bergman

Viennese cold-painted bronze lamp of an Arab by a campfire by Bergman
Austrian, c. 1910
Height 42cm, width 10cm, depth 21cm
 
Crafted by Franz Xaver Bergman (1861-1936), one of the most renowned cold-painted bronze Viennese artists of the early 20th century, this sculptural Orientalist lamp depicts an Arab man near a campfire.
 
The Arab man is sitting cross-legged warming himself near the small campfire. On it, he is heating a drink in a small pot, some of which he is holding in the cup. His clothing is rendered in earthy tones apart from the vibrant head covering. Behind the figure lies a brown vessel.
 
The lamp fixture is hiding in the palm tree leaves above the male. These are depicted as moving in the wind, an unusual design on pieces of this type.
 
The cold-painted bronze piece includes the Bergman foundry stamp – a ‘B’ in an urn-shaped cartouche.
 
Literature: A very similar example is featured in Joseph Zobel, Antique Vienna Bronzes, page 198.
 
Artist/Maker: Franz Xaver Bergman