The original Bather by Allegrain was sculpted in1767 for Mme. Du Barry and placed in the gardens of Louvecienne. Mme Du Barry, a women of extraordinary beauty was Louis XV’s mistress and lover. The king of France built palaces for her and encouraged her to patronize the arts. Allegrain’s statue was influenced by Venus, the goddess of love, although her delicate features and slender waist and wrist are characteristic of eighteenth century French femininity
Of French origin, “Belladonna” has been fashioned in an Art Nouveau style. Art Nouveau, is a phrase used to describe a European art movement of the last two decades of the 1800s and the first decade of the 1900s. The term Art Nouveau is derived from Maison de l’Art Nouveau, a Paris shop opened in 1896 by the dealer Siegfried Bing. It found expression in a wide range of art forms—architecture, interior design, furniture, posters, glass, pottery, textiles, and book illustration—and was characterized by its devotion to curving and undulating lines, often referred to as whiplash lines. “Belladonna” is sure to delight any home or garden.
Following the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter in 1922, the western world was obsessed with anything Egyptian. The treasure recovered was of such great quality and design, that dress, jewelry, architecture and many other mediums were influenced with ancient Egyptian motifs such as the scarab beetle or lotus flower. The “Art Deco” movement (commencing in the mid 1920’s), has many of it’s roots firmly planted in the art of ancient Egypt. In this piece we clearly see Egypt’s influence in the small table that the girl is leaning upon. She is also dressed in ‘roaring 20’s’ revealing fashion.
Taken from Greek mythology, this highly detailed statue of Hercules shows the beauty and strength of this ancient hero. In his lifetime, Hercules was challenged to complete twelve feats of strength, ranging from endurance to tests of brute force. Designed to hold a sundial or planter, or perhaps as a leg of a table, Hercules will look majestic and impressive in any garden or home.
The Inuksuk is generally regarded as a sign post to show direction on the otherwise blank landscape of the Arctic or other areas of the far north. They do however, also mark fishing spots, camps, hunting grounds, and food caches. This one could point out your favorite spot in your garden or yard.
Seen here sleeping, Maya is a truly captivating mystical creature of the sea. She adorns the shore with her beauty and will bring the same peace and tranquility to your Garden or any outdoor space.
No garden is complete without a statue of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment, to watch over the natural cycle of flora and fauna. St Francis was born in medieval Italy and renounced his father’s wealth in order to live a humble religious life. He was revered for his great humility towards the living world and is often pictured with a small bird in hand, a reference to an incident where he and his companions came upon a place where birds filled the trees. St Francis preached to the birds who surrounded him, drawn by the power of his voice, not one of them flew away.
