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Bronze Hippo Sculpture: Hippopotamus Maquette by Jonathan Sanders

Bronze Hippo Sculpture: Hippopotamus Maquette by Jonathan Sanders

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Size in cm: 7w x 4h x 3d cm
Size in inches: 2¾"w x 1½"h x 1¼"d
Weight: 200g / 7oz

Edition: 500
Material: Foundry Cast Bronze

This Jonathan Sanders bronze sculpture of a Hippopotamus Maquette was cast by hand in a British foundry by Nelson & Forbes, as limited edition of just 500 castings. It is part of the Nelson & Forbes ‘Studio Maquette Collection’, which was launched in 2015 following requests by collectors for miniature sculptures that would make ideal gifts.

Jonathan Sanders took inspiration from some of his most successful pieces in the Nelson & Forbes range when choosing his subjects.

Every maquette is presented in a high quality handmade gift box with each piece beautifully wrapped in a velvet pouch and is accompanied by a booklet containing an artist hand signed certificate of authenticity and information about the artist and casting process. It bears the edition number of your sculpture and is your guarantee that this is an original foundry casting of the sculptor’s work that he has personally approved.

This bronze casting is a perfect recreation of the artist's original sculpture and took two weeks to create by hand. It bears the artist's signature mark and its own unique edition number marked on the sculpture. As every piece is cast by hand and then the mould destroyed, each one is an original and so will be very slightly different to the last.

Jonathan Sanders Biography Photo Jonathan Sanders was born in 1959, and completed a degree in Fine Art at North Staffordshire University in the early 1970's.

While Jonathan was training, his talent for sculpting was immediately spotted, but he chose at that time to follow a career as a painter and his work quickly became sought after by collectors.

His work is so highly regarded that he undertook several notable commissions at that time including the cover for the South African band Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s album ‘In Harmony’ and a personal portrait of Nelson Mandela.

His original paintings are sought after and held in collections worldwide and his prints reach a wide audience both as limited editions in galleries and open editions sold in Next and Ikea.

As he painted, inspired by the landscape, wildlife, people around him and native African art, he gradually found that these same influences were also inspiring him to revisit his passion for sculpting.

Jonathan began to experiment with clay and wax, gradually developing a unique way of capturing the mood and weight of the animals he spent so long studying in East Africa.

"I find working in the three dimensional form truly fascinating," he says. "The pose has to have an element of drama. Then comes the anatomy of the subject which has to be accurate, but not to the point of compromising the movement and presence of the piece."

Jonathan initially cast several of his wildlife sculptures in bronze resin, but when asked what it means to see his work cast in solid bronze, he explains:

"The Bronze reveals all the manipulation of the original material. Its patina has a depth of colour that absorbs and reflects light. Pick the piece up and it feels heavy in the hand. A tactile, permanent piece of work that truly reveals the qualities of the artist’s hand."

His first limited edition bronze sculptures sold out swiftly and he is currently working on new pieces in his studio in Bath, where he lives with his wife and children.

Jonathan says, "Working in three dimensions has challenged me to look at my paintings differently and experiment with new techniques."

Creation of your bronze sculpture

Every time we cast a piece, a new mould is created and subsequently destroyed. This means that every single piece of sculpture bought from us is entirely hand made and utterly unique, which is why it is numbered by hand to tell you which casting of the edition you have bought.

1. Mould Making

A silicone rubber mould is made of the original art work. Absolutely every detail captured or missed by this mould will be reproduced in the bronze castings. Depending on the size of the mould, it may then be cut into sections for casting.

This is the master mould used to originate all castings of that piece. Each time that piece is ordered, we follow the following procedure:

2. Making the Wax Casting

Molten wax is poured into the rubber to create an exact wax duplicate of the original model.

3. Chasing the Wax

The wax is removed from the rubber mould any flaws are hand finished by a skilled craftsman.

4. Spruing

Wax rods and a wax pouring cup are carefully attached to the wax casting in just the right positions to allow bronze to be poured in any displaced air to escape. This means that no air bubbles are trapped inside the mould as they would be gaps in the finished bronze piece.

5. Investment

The wax model with attached rods is now covered in ceramic material which will form the mould for the final bronze pour. This is done by dipping the wax model carefully into investment liquid and then covering it in a fine powder before allowing it to cure (completely dry). The model is then dipped into investment liquid again and given a coating of a coarse ceramic powder. By following this procedure several times, a ceramic shell is built up around the wax model.

6. Burn-Out

The wax inside the ceramic shell is then placed in a kiln and fired. The shell bakes and the wax is melted (lost) from the shell. This creates a hollow ceramic shell mould and accounts for the term "Lost Wax" being applied to the process.

7. Casting

The ceramic mould is removed from the kiln and molten bronze is immediately poured into it, at 1200°C.

8. Break Out

Once the casting has been allowed to cool for several hours, the mould is carefully removed by hand from the bronze model inside.

9. Sandblasting

Any fragments of the ceramic shell are removed by sandblasting and the sculpture is carefully inspected at this point.

10. Assembly

All attached rods and cups (which are now bronze) are removed by hand. At this point, any segments of a large sculpture that has been cast in sections are welded together.

11.Chasing

All the weld marks and removed and rod marks are chased and re-detailed by hand. Any scars left by the rods are carefully blended to match the rest of the sculpture’s surface as intended by the artist.

12. Polishing

The bronze is hand polished in preparation for the patina.

13. Patination

The bronze is first heated before the chemical patina is applied by an artist. A patina can achieve many different colours or effects depending on the mix of chemicals used.

14. Waxing

Finally a wax coating is hand applied before the piece is polished to ensure a beautiful lustrous patina.

15. Numbering

Finally, the piece is numbered by hand. It is numbered as the casting number, followed by a slash and finally the edition size. For examples, 5/500 means that your piece was the fifth piece to be cast from the master mould out of 500 castings made. The piece also bears the signature of the artist. Jonathan Sanders pieces are all marked with a JS or JRS.

Reviews

Customer Reviews 9 item(s)

Great sculpture!

Overall Satisfaction

Absolutely beautiful sculpture! I got this as a present for my son and he just loves it!! Very high quality piece. Super fast shipping and very well packaged! I highly recommend it! Review by paniti (USA) / (Posted on 27/05/24)

Bronze hippo

Overall Satisfaction

Back from Safari and the Hippo was our favourite animal - so many surprises. This is a truly realistic model. Review by Helen / (Posted on 8/07/23)

A beautiful little hippo.

Overall Satisfaction

I love Hippos ... I particularly love this little hippo. Beautifully made, beautifully presented and packaged and absolutely gorgeous. Review by Helen / (Posted on 1/11/21)

Pleased

Overall Satisfaction

Thank you - hippo arrived as scheduled and I am pleased with him. Now I have to start saving for another safari friend for him. Review by Mrs. L.J. / (Posted on 9/10/20)

A gift for my son

Overall Satisfaction

Bought as gift for my son, he loves it. Review by M.M. / (Posted on 6/08/19)

Delighted

Overall Satisfaction

My wife was delighted with it, thank you. Review by Mr. S.K. / (Posted on 8/02/19)

Very satisfied.

Overall Satisfaction

Very solid figure, beautifully made and with a charming, very detailed face. Very realistic and exceptional value. Review by Mrs J M / (Posted on 8/12/18)

Hippo

Overall Satisfaction

Brought as a Christmas present well received
Hippo as described well cast fine detail
Easy to order and prompt delivery
Would recommend Review by Clare / (Posted on 15/01/18)

Hip hip haray