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“Little Bear” Fountain, Brown University
The bronze arrived with heavy coats of lacquer covering the fine modeling details of the bronze and the original patina.

 

This is the bronze bear which was cast in Florence, Italy in 1937. Painted either by the maintenance crew, or by enthusiastic students as grafitti, the bronze animal is painted brown, with black collar and red tongue. The sculpted tree trunk base upon which the bear stands is painted black. The bear is bolted to a stone fountain bowl into which water sprays from the bear's nose. The paint is chipped, and the fountain plumbing is broken.

Before restoration

 Here is a closeup of the bear's head before we removed the paint. You can see the many chips in the painted surface, and the garrishly painted red tongue.

Close up

 

We removed the lacquer and repainted the bronze after consulting with the Brown Campus Curator about the probable original patina and the overall campus aesthetic.

 

Here is the same view of the bear after we removed the paint and reapplied the patina, which is now subtle brown and dark green. The modeling details covered by the paint are now clear. the fountain plumbing has been rebuilt. This is another colseup of the restored bronze animal's head which shows the carefully modelled cranium, nose, tongue and eyes.
Here is a closeup of the bear, from the side. The modelling by the German sculptor is representative of the Art Deco style of the period. The surrealistic anatomical details are also representative of German sculpture style, as is the bizarre and comical water spout spurting from his nose ­ certainly a deterrent to those who might like to take a sip.
 
Completed restoration

 

This will return you to the main page, where you can see the bronze Art Deco figurine, and the candelabra we restored for the Newport Mansion, Chepstow.