Fake? German Schmidt-Felling Bronze

Hello,

I took a chance on a statue on eBay.

I am completely new to bronze statues, so this is the first I have ever purchased.

The lister did not know much about it but did appear to have sold a number of antiques over time--he had over 1200 stars, so he isn't a startup.

The item is now on its way to me and I have found more information on it.

I am concerned it may be a fake or a replica.

The title of the piece is "BIS FRÜH UM FÜNFE". It is a piece by JULIUS PAUL SCHMIDT-FELLING.

From searching, I have found that it is likely a statue of a famous German composer from Berlin--Paul Lincke.

I have found two almost identical pieces on two separate auction sites--both of these pieces varied from one another by the way the cane is positioned. The piece I have coming has no cane (and it appears it was never part of the piece--it doesn't appear to have broken off).

The reasons I am concerned that it may be a fake or a replica are the following:

The lettering at the base is not nearly as readable (clear) as the two pieces I found at the auction sites. The lettering is weak. As well, the pieces I found online all have very smooth areas around the letting whereas the one I have on the way almost looks like it has grind marks around it.

Neither of the two auction pieces appears to have been painted; this one not only has a poorly done paint job on the necktie and corsage, but the whole piece looks painted (I haven't seen it in person yet).

As stated above, the two auction pieces have a cane present--this one does not.

The metal fastener at the bottom of the marble looks relatively pristine and "new" in my unexpert opinion; the other pieces I found online have rusted metal here and look "less modern."​

Below are the pictures.

Thanks in advance for any and all input!

Barry

This is the one that is now mine:




Here are the two pieces I found on Auction sites (please note: each has a cane and the cane is held differently in each):




Here are links to each of the auction listings:

https://www.lot-tissimo.com/de-de/a...0003/lot-aad82f9d-b5b5-41fe-80ff-aa1000cd4658

https://www.lotsearch.de/lot/berlin...e=80&page=3&orderBy=lot-startPrice&order=DESC

View attachment 367656

 

Size of what you think is original should be compared to the piece you bought. If yours is a tad smaller, it would be a re cast from an original... Or yours is simply an old one which patina has been removed.
Not a specialist, this is only my opinion
I love the subject!

 

Much appreciated, Kyra! One of the two auction sites I think did give the size of the piece they had. I will do that!

 

The lines on the front of the base look like 220 sandpaper.

 

Yikes.
At the very least, hopefully the upper part is bronze! Even if a replica or fake.
Thanks, Holly.

 

A foundry mark, RKB.

This one also has a natural placement of the cane.

Does your statue have a hole in his hand to receive a cane?

 

Here's another one without a cane ...
https://www.marktplaats.nl/v/antiek...-schmidt-felling-dl-gesigneerde-antieke-brons

Weak writing on back like your statue.
Also a different mark than my last post above.

I see a line in the casting emanating from his shoe, on the ground. Yours has a line in this area.

 

Hello, Roaring,

The second one you posted--that looks a lot like it. I don't have it in my hands yet, so I can only go off of pictures. I don't think there is a hole in the right hand that could receive a cane--I did closeups of that area and didn't see one.

The lettering on the one you found that has no cane looks a lot different than the lettering on mine--among other things, the "f"s in "funfe" are much stronger and shaped differently. The paint job is different, too (no silver on the top hat on the one I bought). Also, I don't see the scrape marks on the one you found.

But, overall, it is a match.

Thoughts (if when I get it I find it is bronze) as to mine being a fake or a replica given the lettering and the scrape marks?

Thanks!!!

 

The hole in the hand was just a tangent thought, since we see three different types.

The scrapes could have been smooth over some damage and the newer looking mounting bolts just part of the same salvage.

No thoughts on the difference in the text.

Your research will continue. Possibly different period foundries issued this. Can't believe this figure would have a vast audience for it to be a modern recast.

 

Thanks for what you found and your thoughts.

Again, I am new to this, but I thought the same thing as to someone making a counterfit or a replica due to most likely not many people overall having interest in it.

 

--- One more question:

Neither of the German auction sites nor the Dutch (it looked Dutch to me) site made mention of the theme of this piece. I am quite sure I found it--the German composer Paul Lincke. Does the information in regard to who is depicted in the statue add any noticeable value in your opinion?

 

I'm no expert, just inquisitive in things that interest me.

For me, its depiction is that of a gentleman of a particular era, and that is where it stops. A musician might see it differently. In general, I think it has broad appeal as an interesting object, so no extra value from my standpoint.

 

RKB = Robert Kionsek Berlin.
Schmidt Felling was known for these too sweet, even kitschy statuettes at the end of a long workinglife. not really Jugendstil, not yet art deco, also working with subjects from the Historismus, so bourgeois. around 1890s under the influence of beginning Jugendstil the idea was to offer something massproduced, nice and not too expensive for the lower middle classes.
at the moment many auction houses sell cheap replicas to rightout fakes to survive the Covid crisis. I even had to warn a well-known Berlin house that I will sue them for internet fraud when I received cheap Indian copies in brass instead of bronze Jugendstil items.
Germany has introduced a system for criminal complaints where you can report directly to the authorized police of the different Land via internet.
lot-tissimo gets worse and worse; partly due to the operator trying to cash in now with a 3 % prime at the auction houses, partly due to complete idiots that are allowed now to sell the platform.

 

Hello, Fid!

A lot of good insight.

Like Roaring20s said, I thought given that this particular one doesn't really speak to a large crowd, maybe no one would go through the troubles of faking it. I did, however, find an overabundance of certain pieces (not the "Bis fruh..." piece) from Schmidt-Felling on eBay and other sites that made me think they most likely were fakes; the asking prices were all over the place, too.

Do you have any advice for me on how to tell if this one is the real deal or not? I compared mine to what I thought were the gold standards--the ones from the two auction houses (plus the third house that R20s introduced).

If you would like, or wouldn't mind, when I get it, I will take some more detailed pictures and post them. If it turns out to be fake, I will trust that the seller was unaware of this and count my losses--unless it turns out to be not bronze (he was confident it was bronze and it was in the title), at which point I will demand to return it for a full refund.

As to your brass pieces--sorry for your experience!

Vielen Dank, Fid!

Barry

 

the subject is clear. at 5 a.m. in the morning the gentleman in his good clothes is a bit tipsy and on his way home; a subject that was also used on humorous postcards.
without knowing where exactly bought for what price nobody can give you an idea if outright fake or old replica - which isn't the same.

 

So all Schmidt-Fellings currently on the market can be fakes or replicas?

As to my thought that it is related to Paul Lincke, I found a musical piece from about the same time period called "Bis Frue Um Funfe" by him. Plus, I realize the mustache the figure has was in style at that point in time, but Paul sported the same mustache and I found pictures of him in a top hat and similar clothing (though, again, common for that time period). I realize Paul Lincke may have composed his musical piece by the same name after the statue was made, too, but..

But again, all pieces on the market today could be fakes or replicas and no one would know?

Noch einmal, Vielen Dank, Fid!!!

 

there is nothing better than hands-on inspection. this is one of the reasons for certain Auktionshäuser to cheat "thanks to" Covid because no public is allowed...
we'll see when you received it. but yes, always possible that it's fake or replica or museum shop copy. the latter are normally of correct to excellent quality, especially when coming from museums like the Louvre; there were even Louvre copies that were made by the artists themselves - but superrare, cost you an arm and a leg.

 

(I thought I had replied to this via my cell phone, but am not seeing; if redundant, oops.)

I'll keep both my arms and both my legs!

Once again, I greatly appreciate all your help, Fid.

Barry

 

I keep thinking it's Uncle Pennybags, aka Mr. Monopoly.