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Bronze Mouse Sculpture: Playing Mouse by Jonathan Sanders

Bronze Mouse Sculpture: Playing Mouse by Jonathan Sanders

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Including VAT: $154.39 Excluding VAT: $128.65

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Size in cm: 6w x 9.5h x 2.5d cm
Size in inches: 2½"w x 3¾"h x 1"d
Weight: 135g / 4¾oz

Edition: 250
Material: Foundry Cast Bronze

We absolutely fell in love with Jonathan Sanders’s mouse sculptures when we saw them for the first time

Jonathan decided begin work on a trio of ‘situational mice’– three sculptures of mice just going about their everyday life, exploring and getting into mischief, as they are wont to do - to see what would happen.

Jonathan says, “I wanted to create sculptures that would look completely at home and be a seamless part of the room in any setting. Rather than have them specifically on display on a shelf or cabinet, I envisaged them as a ‘Mouse About The House’ – really getting involved with the daily life of their family”.

The result is Jonathan’s first collection of mice, Climbing Mouse (on Wheat), Sitting Mouse and this very lively Playing Mouse.

Playing Mouse can be posed climbing onto or off a wide variety of household items, or simply scampering along with his nose in the air, on the trail of an interesting scent.

Whether sitting on a corner of a desk, or walking along the front of a book case, tiptoeing off a pile of books or saucer, or peeping out from behind the clock on a guest room bed side table, the ‘Mice About the House’ in this collection make an amusing and realistic addition to any home.

All three pieces can be displayed happily alone, in pairs, as a trio or even in larger numbers, and no matter where we have arranged them around the house, they are have never failed to induce laughter and joy!

Each mouse is hand cast in solid bronze in our British foundry as a limited edition of 250 castings worldwide. It arrives beautifully presented in our signature grey handmade gift box, accompanied by an artist signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. Each mouse bears the artist’s ‘JS’ signature, our ‘NF’ maker’s mark and its own unique edition number.

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, 5/250 means that your piece was the fifth piece to be cast from the master mould out of 250 castings made. The piece also bears the signature of the artist. Jonathan Sanders pieces are all marked with a JS or JRS.

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Reviews

Customer Reviews 5 item(s)

Bronze Mice

Overall Satisfaction

This was bought as a present for my wife’s 70th birthday and she absolutely loved all the statuettes. They were very skilfully done and really captured the world of the mouse with such character.
They have become a real talking point in our house and have received much praise except for the odd one or two who are a little terrified of the critters.
This comment holds true for the others we purchased at the same time.
We must add that your service was exemplary and without incident which is much appreciated. We have since gone on to purchase another bronze of a mother elephant and baby and this too has much attention in our household.
Thank you so much from both of us and please keep up the excellent work. Review by Ray (Australia) / (Posted on 11/07/2023)

Happy customer

Overall Satisfaction

The mouse was my Christmas present to my husband and we are delighted with it. In fact he bought me one of the other mouse sculptures and they are paired together in mousey companionship. The casting is superb and the quality first class. Both arrived beautifully boxed and safely packed. It is so nice to own something hand crafted with pride. We have made several other purchases from Nelson and Forbes and they are an excellent company in every way.

Review by Vivienne / (Posted on 10/02/2023)

They're perfect

Overall Satisfaction

So excited…..our mice finally found their way home!!
Thanks for all your help! They’re perfect ☺️

Review by Ms. D.O. (USA) / (Posted on 10/02/2023)

Well worth the wait

Overall Satisfaction

Great news the three sculptures arrived today!!! Thank you so much for your follow up on my purchase. This was so well worth the wait and will be a very surprised Wife on Christmas morning!!! Will be hard to have then put up until then!!!!! Thanks again. Review by Mr. A.B. (USA) / (Posted on 24/10/2020)

Delightful