J.W. Fiske Zinc Recumbant Lions with Extensive Provenance 

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Jul 25, 2015 - Jul 26, 2015

Set Reminder 2015-07-25 09:30:00 2015-07-26 09:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American & European Decorative Art, Furniture, Silver and Asian Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-european-decorative-art-furniture-silver-and-asian-art-741
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• Lot Description
  J.W. Fiske Zinc Recumbant Lions with Extensive Provenance 
  
  New York, 1870-1874. A pair of male lions cast in zinc, in reclining positions on rectangular bases, one with inscription J.W. Fiske / 99 Chambers St. / New York; larger ht. 24 in., base lg. 39, wd. 13 in.; smaller ht. approx. 22.75 in.
  
  J.W. Fiske (1832-1903) was located at 99 Chambers St. in New York City from 1870-1874. This address appearing on one lion indicates that the form went into production while the company was located there. This form was produced into the 20th century as Fiske changed locations and appears also in later catalogs.
  
  The lions had previously rested on the front porch of the Chicago Pike Inn, Coldwater, MI, which was built in 1903. The statues have reportedly been at the inn since that time. Prior to this, they were believed to have been a part of the collection of Henry C. Lewis (1820-1884), an art patron and prominent resident of Coldwater. The majority of Lewis' collection was donated to the University of Michigan in 1895.  An 1879 woodcut illustration (shown here) shows the lions prominently resting at the door of Lewis' famed art gallery and residence in Coldwater.
  
  Fiske was a prominent maker of cast iron and zinc garden ornaments, as well as copper weathervanes.  His catalogs were extensively published and broadly distributed, and Henry Lewis likely would have ordered these works (he is believed to have had others resting on the exterior of his home) from Fiske's shop on Chambers St.
  
  Henry C. Lewis was a banker in Coldwater, MI who amassed considerable wealth following the Civil War.  His interest in collecting began in the late 1860s, and he collected a remarkable amount of paintings, primarily from a Grand Tour in Europe in 1867-1868 and also from a single estate auction in New York City.  Over 700 paintings were represented in his gallery, and Lewis opened it to the public.  His collection was eventually bequeathed to the University of Michigan.  It is likely that Lewis, while in New York for a major auction in 1870, put in a significant order with J.W. Fiske at 99 Chambers St.
  
  The lions represented here are a rare example.  They were the largest size of the recumbant lion, and a later catalog of Fiske's offerings priced them at $120.00 apiece.
  
  Carol A. Grisson, Zinc Sculpture in America, 1850-1950, p. 633.

  Condition

  Both lions retaining later cement wash and white paint. Repair to one base at the front right corner and the other has a split at its back right corner.
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