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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: Vahevahe on March 11, 2012, 09:10:34 pm

Title: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: Vahevahe on March 11, 2012, 09:10:34 pm
How much is this artwork worth? Its some type of metal maybe steel? and suede background???
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: mart on March 12, 2012, 08:50:46 am
Even enlarged I can`t tell much about it !!  Might be a bronze plaque but if so it should be marked somewhere !! Even on back !! I would take it out of the frame and see if anything is written on mounting board or whatever it is on, about who did it !! Look closely at front with magnifying glass !!
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: jondar on March 12, 2012, 11:39:24 am
Man! that is one strange picture.  Can't tell the size of it, would help if we knew the dimensions of the frame or image.  Looking left to right I see a horse (cow maybe) looking at a man holding a sword preparing to defend him self from a humanoid figure pointing left. A small child in the midst.  In the background a city or group of buildings, small animal (s) in the foreground, what appears to be body parts scattered around.  Could this be about a massacre that took place a long time ago?  The apocolypse? I hope someone identifies it.
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: mart on March 12, 2012, 12:00:04 pm
If just someones art piece,, not all make sense,, especially during the more strange periods !! Or could be someones interpretation of cave art ?? I can`t see it so I am just going by Jondar`s post !! From what you say Jondar,, I have seen similar scenes in Egyptian/ Mid East art ??  Trying to remember !!  Maybe he will take a good clear front pic and post it !! The background and frame are typical of 70`s stuff !! Pretty ordinary !! Would like to see the plaque though !!
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: Vahevahe on March 12, 2012, 01:05:28 pm
Hope this is a better photo of the front, also a quick summary of what i see on it is a woman is in the center with a child. She is filling up water from a fountain with some type of pot. The fountain is a elderly mans face with the water coming out of the mouth. The animal on the left is a cow . There seems to be a chicken below the cows head displaying its wings. on the right hand corner there is a group of sheep laying down next to each other. On the middle far right there is a horseman in the back. I don't think i can remove the back of the frame because it looks like its one piece. The frame is very small maybee about half a foot across and the center piece is maybe 3 inches across. Its a small piece.
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: jondar on March 14, 2012, 01:52:38 pm
Mart -  My first impression of this was it may be a belt buckle.  Now that we know its three inches in length that falls into the range of the big old buckles popular in the 70's.  Could it be that it was made for this purpose and nobody got around to putting a hook and buckle on the back.  The one I had in the 70's was made of bronze and had a big Mary Jane leaf on it.  Oh misspent youth.
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: jondar on March 14, 2012, 02:01:03 pm
Vahevahe - Yes, much better picture.  Maybe its one of those scenes that you can read your own reaction into what it implies.
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: mart on March 14, 2012, 02:13:18 pm
Mart -  My first impression of this was it may be a belt buckle.  Now that we know its three inches in length that falls into the range of the big old buckles popular in the 70's.  Could it be that it was made for this purpose and nobody got around to putting a hook and buckle on the back.  The one I had in the 70's was made of bronze and had a big Mary Jane leaf on it.  Oh misspent youth.

LOL  You are telling on yourself Jondar !!  Here in Texas those buckles ( not the Mary Jane ones, just the big ones) are still everywhere !! As they say,, You ain`t a Texan unless you got a buckle as big as your hat brim !!
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: Vahevahe on March 14, 2012, 07:47:45 pm
I took a photo of the back of it after i removed it from the frame and mounting. I don't believe its a belt because the piece is flat and not curved.
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: adam82376 on March 14, 2012, 08:12:55 pm
Whats that country that loves cows and thinks they should be idolized?
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: sapphire on March 14, 2012, 08:36:54 pm
Reminds me of those decorative 'brass' wall plaques with English or German country village scenes.  There appears to be a shepherdess in the bottom left corner, likely for the flock of sheep seen in the lower middle to right corner.

Is the material metal and if so, is it soft or hard, can you mark it or remove the finish with a pin or something else small?  (in an inconspicuous spot that is) Is it fairly light weight or feel substantial in your hand?

Fiddled with it a bit to try and bring out more detail.........


Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: Vahevahe on March 14, 2012, 09:44:55 pm
Yes it is metal and it is hard rather than soft. On the top left corner there is a small spot which the metal has flaked off and a wire slightly protrudes out. This gives me the idea that a wire draft of the piece was made then the metal was added on top.
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: fancypants on March 14, 2012, 10:02:26 pm
Perhaps your item has been plated with a coating .... does a magnet 'stick' to it ?

As the images were a bit too fuzzy to tell , I'm wondering about the back of your item ... looks almost as if there are a couple of 'holes' , perhaps threaded &/or from the removal of some piece/mounting/etc from the original ?
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: Vahevahe on March 14, 2012, 10:17:30 pm
No a magnet dosnt stick to it. There are no holes on the back there are 4 pins that stick out on the back that stick into the frame. The 4 pins are soldered on. Its looks like the metal might be silver.
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: fancypants on March 14, 2012, 10:22:51 pm
Hmmm ... the pic of the back looks like as if it has been 'filled' with something ... is this so (a 'stamped-metal' item , back-filled) ?
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: Vahevahe on March 14, 2012, 10:33:31 pm
Yes we think the back is filled with lead?
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: KevinB on March 15, 2012, 01:45:34 pm
Could it be a printing plate for an illustration in a book?
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: mart on March 15, 2012, 04:47:36 pm
Plate would need to be flatter for a book illustration !! If the figures are raised too far above the paper,, image would be distorted !! 
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: Vahevahe on March 16, 2012, 10:41:00 pm
So is this a one off or something?
Title: Re: How much is this artwork worth?
Post by: mart on March 17, 2012, 01:24:43 pm
Whats that country that loves cows and thinks they should be idolized?

India I think !!