Description/    

GECHTER, pair of andirons "Warriors at rest"

Model prior to 1844. Cast circa 1860.

Cast iron.

With this pair of andirons the artist explores his favorite subject: warriors in full armor. Each man sits before a tree, on which his standard, shield and military trophies hang. The trees also support their weapons, gloves and hunting horns. Heavily armed, their faces drawn and tired, they rest on scrolled and elegantly carved bases. The andirons are linked by a military trophy composed of a shield, a horn, a flail and two hachets.

The quality of sculpture, the care for detail and variety of treatment of the surfaces, are the remarkable work of the Romantic sculptor Jean-François Gechter.