ALEXANDER FISHER (1864-1936)
BHANAVAR THE BEAUTIFUL, CIRCA 1903-4
£3,750
The Peter Rose & Albert Gallichan Collection
Auction: 30 November 2021 at 10:00 GMT
Description
silvered metal, black patinated bronze base, signed ALEX FISHER/ BHANAVAR
Dimensions
49cm (19 1/4in) high
Provenance
Provenance:
20th Century Decorative Arts, Christie's South Kensington, 23 July 1993, lot 765;
Purchased from Michael Whiteway, December 1993.
Footnote
Literature:
Coleman, B., The Best of British Arts & Crafts, Atglen, 2004, p. 213 (illustrated).
Note:
George Meredith’s The Story of Bhanavar the Beautiful, from a collection of pseudo-oriental stories titled The Shaving of Shagpat was first published in 1856 and became a popular subject of artists and sculptors of the period. The tale follows Bhanavar, an Arabian beauty and innocent daughter of a Caucasian amir, who gains possession of a magical jewel and is transformed into an evil queen of the serpents. In Alexander Fisher’s rendition he captures Bhanavar at the moment of transformation, with her arms held aloft to the heavens, creating a femme fatale figure that was a source of fascination to the public, as was shown in art and literature of the period, in the latter half of the long nineteenth century.