Applied Arts

The Industrial Revolution generated collaborations between artists and manufacturers. Lamps, seals, cups, inkwells, clocks and other furnishing accessories become works of art in everyday life. Of course, given his mythical status, Beethoven, the art subject, erupted into the homes of art and music lovers. Such masterpieces are no longer produced and have become very rare and much sought after by collectors, having been replaced by cheap, industrial gadgets. 

The Carrino Collection includes pieces of extraordinary historical interest. For example, the inkwell from the Susse Fres company in Paris, with a bust of Beethoven signed Fernkorn and Preleunther from 1843, was made at a time when no monument to the composer existed. Other works can be appreciated for the quality of their details. These include a magnificent Beethoven-themed seal with matrix, and a hand-painted spoon with a portrait of Beethoven and an image of his birthplace!   

The collection of table lamps is outstanding. Georges Raoul Garreau’s gilded bronze Art Deco lamp is extremely elegant and the Italian design lamp from the 1970s is sublime when lit.

It is a world full of details, such as the clock that has stopped at the time of his death in the sculpture of Beethoven seated by Albert Dominique Rosé, or the inkwell by the Wiener Bronze Manifaktur: when it opens, the laurel wreath on the composer’s head lifts. This irreverence is easily remedied by closing the jar, when once again the wreath is lowered onto the maestro’s head… 

zoom_in zoom_in ANTON DOMINIK FERNKORN & JOHANN BAPTIST PRELEUTHNER
Artistic inkwell, produced by Susse Fres, Paris. zoom_in zoom_in Beethoven-themed cast bronze seal with pale patina and matrix, probably made in Germany, 1850–1870, height 104 mm. zoom_in Souvenir cast silver spoon, hand-painted, polished enamel, German production, late 1800s, 120 mm. zoom_in A. TITZE, Austrian Art Nouveau sculptor of the early 1900s.
Cast bronze bookend, early 1900s. zoom_in HERTL, Austrian sculptor, active in the early 1900s.
Cast bronze servant call bell, early 1900s. zoom_in ALBERT DOMINIQUE ROSÉ, *Amiens, 1861 – †Amiens, 1952?
Large polychrome ceramic sculpture with bronze clock, produced in Vienna in 1902 by the historic Goldscheider factory, no. 20 of 32 pieces. zoom_in KÖNIGLICHE PORZELLAN MANIFAKTUR, Berlin.
Commemorative cup produced for the centenary of Beethoven’s death, 26 March 1927. zoom_in zoom_in WIENER BRONZE MANIFAKTUR
Artistic inkwell with Beethoven's face, Vienna, c. 1927. zoom_in GEORGES RAOUL GARREAU, *Paris, 6 February 1885 – †1954?
Gilded bronze table lamp on black marble base, late 1930s. zoom_in COUROC, Monterey, California.
Polychrome translucent phenolic resin tray, 1950s, 31.6 x 45.5 cm. zoom_in Table lamp made of opaque white pressed plastic, Italy, probably 1970s. zoom_in OGUZ SIMSEK, pipe maker of Turkish origin (living).
Artistic pipe carved from a block of olive wood, produced in Nuremberg, early 2000s.