World premiere: Mainzelmännchen - exclusive edition at ars mundi for the 50th stage anniversary in 2013The true television stars wear neither dinner jackets nor evening dresses - they wear pointed caps. And they can look back on a career spanning almost 50 years. Reason enough to erect a small monument to the Mainzelmännchen - in precious bronze and cast stone. The Mainzelmännchen are cult. They have been part of our everyday lives since 2 April 1963 and many of us have taken Anton, Berti, Conni, Det, Edi and Fritzchen to our hearts as children. After almost 50 years of television careers with over 40,000 of their short adverts, the 3 Mainzelmännchen are now available for the first time in bronze and cast stone - sculpted by their spiritual father, the graphic artist and set designer Wolf Gerlach himself, and released by him and ZDF in a strictly limited edition exclusively for ars mundi. Just as the little TV stars were created picture by picture with pencil drawings, their sculptural realisation was also to be of the highest level of craftsmanship. The art foundry we chose guarantees the utmost care in casting and post-processing, such as sanding and chiselling the raw casting by hand through to patination. The multi-coloured patination is a particular challenge. Because just as each of the Mainzelmännchen has its own name and character, it can also be recognised by its clothing. To dress Anton in a red shirt and blue trousers, for example, an extraordinarily complex patination process is required, in which the colours have to be applied in a precisely coordinated sequence and at different temperatures. This requires many years of manual experience and the patineur's dexterity. The results are small works of art, as befits the Mainzelmännchen. And Wolf Gerlach's signature confirms that they are in no way inferior to their famous drawn role models in artistic terms - each one bears his signature. Three 'Mainzelmännchen': 'Berti', 'Anton' and 'Conni', edition in cast bronze: The limited edition of 499 pieces in multi-coloured patinated bronze is cast with great craftsmanship using the traditional lost wax process. Each piece is created exclusively for ars mundi, bears Gerlach's signature and is individually numbered. With hand-numbered certificate. Format each approx. 13 x 15 x 11 cm (W/H/D). Each weighing approx. 2.3 kg, the complete trio as a set with standardised numbering.
This sculpture casts the debate surrounding Charles Darwin's work in an almost iconographic form. Cast metal with silver-plated surface. Size 8 x 5 x 4.8 cm (h/w/d).
With the sculpture 'Monkey with Skull', the philosopher and sculptor Wolfgang Hugo Rheinhold (1853-1900) cast the debate surrounding Charles Darwin's work in an almost iconographic form. His contemporaries already attested to the fact that he delivered a 'cabinet piece of superior humour' with his manifold allusions - after all, not only Shakespeare's 'To be or not to be', but also Rodin's 'Thinker' and circulating Darwin caricatures clearly shimmer through. But Rheinhold's monkey is far more than just humour cast in bronze from his great-grandfather's time. After all, the monkey wielding a tool for measuring skulls is not only sitting on Darwin's ground-breaking work, but also on the Bible. And on closer inspection, the 'Inscriptio', the inscription, proves to be the key to the allegory: 'Eritis sicut deus' it says, 'You will be like God'. With these very words, the devil lures Adam and Eve to the tree of knowledge, which, as we know, leads to their expulsion from paradise. In the end, the sculptor Rheinhold proves to be a philosopher again: those who seek knowledge, the 'monkey with a skull' tells us, must reckon with consequences - one, if not 'the' fundamental experience of the 20th century, from the atomic bomb to genetic engineering.polymer cast with bronzed surface. Size 8 x 13.5 x 8 cm (W/H/D). Weight approx. 0.7 kg.
With the sculpture 'Monkey with Skull', the philosopher and sculptor Wolfgang Hugo Rheinhold (1853-1900) cast the debate surrounding Charles Darwin's work in an almost iconographic form. His contemporaries already attested to the fact that he delivered a 'cabinet piece of superior humour' with his manifold allusions - after all, not only Shakespeare's 'To be or not to be', but also Rodin's 'Thinker' and circulating Darwin caricatures clearly shimmer through. But Rheinhold's monkey is far more than just humour cast in bronze from his great-grandfather's time. After all, the monkey wielding a tool for measuring skulls is not only sitting on Darwin's ground-breaking work, but also on the Bible. And on closer inspection, the 'Inscriptio', the inscription, proves to be the key to the allegory: 'Eritis sicut deus' it says, 'You will be like God'. With these very words, the devil lures Adam and Eve to the tree of knowledge, which, as we know, leads to their expulsion from paradise. In the end, the sculptor Rheinhold proves himself to be a philosopher again: those who seek knowledge, the 'monkey with a skull' tells us, must reckon with consequences - one, if not 'the' fundamental experience of the 20th century, from the atomic bomb to genetic engineering.sculpture in fine bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, partially patinated, polished and gilded by hand. On a black diabase base. Size 17 x 26 x 17 cm (W/H/D), weight approx. 5 kg. Limited to 980 pieces, numbered. With certificate.
Classic Madonna sculpture modelled on the Italian model. Elaborate handcraft from a traditional workshop in Val Gardena. Made from fine sycamore wood, hand-painted and gilded with beaten metal foil. Size 30.5 x 11.5 x 9 cm (h/w/d).
The true importance of courtiers and officials in pharaonic Egypt can be recognised by the privilege of being able to 'immortalise' themselves as a symbol of status and education. Like this scribe figure of Henka, whose base plate on the front bears the name and title of the tomb owner. Original: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Ägyptisches Museum. Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty c. 2400 BC, limestone. Polymer ars mundi museum replica moulded by hand. Size 40 x 32 x 30 cm (h/w/d).
Acrylic mirror with wooden back and coated with antistatic protective lacquer. Limited edition of 20 copies. With certificate, signed and numbered. With hanging device. Format approx. 46 x 50 x 1 cm (h/w/d).
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, patinated by hand, waxed black. Limited edition of 6 pieces. Signed and numbered. Size including wooden base 33 x 12 x 10 cm (H/W/D). Weight approx. 2.5 kg.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, patinated white and waxed by hand. Limited edition of 6 pieces. Signed and numbered. Size 29 x 12 x 9.5 cm (h/w/d). Base size 2.5 x 12 x 8 cm (h/w/d). Weight approx. 2 kg.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, black patina. Limited edition of 49 pieces. Signed and numbered and hallmarked with the foundry stamp, with numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Format including Carrara marble base 21.5 x 19.5 x 6.5 cm (h/w/d). Weight approx. 1.9 kg. ars mundi exclusive edition.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, one side polished by hand, other side black patinated. Limited edition of 49 pieces. Signed and numbered and hallmarked with the foundry stamp, with numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Format including solid wood base natural oak 23 x 19.5 x 6.5 cm (H/W/D). Weight approx. 1.4 kg. ars mundi exclusive edition.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, patinated by hand. Limited edition of 6 pieces. Signed and numbered. Size including wooden base 24 x 20 x 11 cm (H/W/D). Weight approx. 2.9 kg.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, partially polished and patinated. Limited edition of 29 pieces. Signed and numbered and hallmarked with the foundry stamp, with numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Format including solid oak base 33.5 x 18 x 12.5 cm (h/w/d). Weight approx. 4 kg. ars mundi exclusive edition.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, polished. Limited edition of 29 pieces. Signed and numbered and hallmarked with the foundry stamp, with numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Format including solid oak base 33.5 x 18 x 12.5 cm (H/W/D). Weight approx. 4 kg. ars mundi exclusive edition.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, patinated white and waxed by hand. Limited edition of 6 pieces. Signed and numbered. Size 28.5 x 27 x 8.5 cm (h/w/d). Base size 2.5 x 15 x 8.5 cm (h/w/d). Weight approx. 3.5 kg.
Sculpture in bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, polished by hand. Limited edition of 29 pieces. Signed and numbered and hallmarked with the foundry stamp, with numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Format including solid wood base natural oak 37.5 x 13 x 9 cm (H/W/D). Weight approx. 2.2 kg. ars mundi exclusive edition.
Odysseus went to Dodona, the oldest oracle sanctuary in the Greek world. There, under Phillip of Macedon, the famous sculptors of the time created statues to decorate the temple of Zeus. The almighty father of gods and men strides towards the viewer here, ready for action and gracious. Original: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin, Antikensammlung. Greek Classicism, 4th century BC Cast metal with fine patina. Height with shell limestone base 34 cm.
Bronze sculpture, hand-patinated in colour, cast using the lost wax technique. Limited edition of 99 pieces, signed. With certificate. Size 40 x 24.5 x 11 cm (h/w/d). Weight 4.7 kg.
Sculpture in bronze, partially patinated and polished. Cast by hand using the lost wax technique. Limited edition of 99 pieces, numbered and signed. Sculpture size 40 x 36 x 14.5 cm (h/w/d), base size 4 x 20 x 39 cm (h/w/d). Weight 10 kg.
