{"title":"Henri Gaudier Brzeska Toy \u0026 Duck Replicas","description":"\u003cp\u003eThese actual size replicas of two of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska's so-called 'pocket' sculptures, \u003cem\u003eTorpedo Fish (Toy)\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eDuck\u003c\/em\u003e, are handcrafted exclusively for Kettle's Yard by Alistair Burgass in his Norfolk studio.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"henri-gaudier-brzeska-toy-replica","title":"Henri Gaudier-Brzeska Toy Replica","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis jesmonite replica has been made exclusively for Kettle's Yard by a local maker, using moulds taken from the original bronze.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eActual size replica\u003cbr\u003eDimensions: 160 x 40 x 30 mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToy – otherwise known as Torpedo Fish or Ornament – was commissioned from Henri Gaudier-Brzeska in 1914 by the writer T.E. Hulme, who paid £2 for it. It was one of a number of hand-held pieces made by Gaudier for friends and members of the Vorticist group. These small sculptures were designed to be held, handled, played with and worn. Fellow sculptor Jacob Epstein recalled that Gaudier thought them “great fun to do” and that Hulme would carry Toy “about him in his pocket, and would handle it while talking.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHenri Gaudier was born in St. Jean de Braye, near Orleans, in France. He first came to Britain in 1908. He met Sophie Brzeska while working as a student in the evenings at Ste. Genevieve Library in Paris in 1910. In the same year he left France under a cloud of social hostility and settled in England adding the name Brzeska to his own soon after. He worked in isolation until he met Middleton Murray in 1912, whereafter he built up a circle of artists and intellectuals which included Ezra Pound, Wyndham Lewis and T. E. Hulme. He became involved in Pound's and Lewis' Vorticist group, contributing to the two issues of their magazine Blast. Gaudier was killed in action during the First World War in Belgium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese replicas are handmade in Norfolk by Alistair Burgass, exclusively for Kettle's Yard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alistair Burgass","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8642993389667,"sku":"24002","price":49.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2611\/1744\/products\/Alistair_Burgass_Henri_Gaudier-Brzeska_Toy_Replica_1.jpg?v=1657802502"},{"product_id":"henri-gaudier-brzeska-duck-replica","title":"Henri Gaudier-Brzeska Duck Replica","description":"\u003cp\u003eActual size replica\u003cbr\u003eDimensions: 120mm x 65mm x 40mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis jesmonite replica has been made exclusively for Kettle's Yard by a local maker, using moulds taken from the original sculpture. Each is handfinished with a 'patina' effect. Due to the handmade nature of this item subtle variations in finish are to expected and the item you receive may differ from the photograph. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Duck” (1914) is an example of the small-scale informal carvings that Gaudier made when he was short of materials. Financial circumstances would often leave him without stone to carve. Then he would rely on off-cuts from Aristide Fabrucci (the Italian sculptor who had a studio next to his on the Fulham Road), or on gifts, or on theft from local mason’s yards. The small scale and simple rendition of the Duck’s body suggest that it may have been fashioned from such an off-cut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGaudier’s practice of making hand-held sculptures for his friends may have resulted from these restrictions. Duck displays Gaudier’s affection for animals, but like similar pieces by the sculptor its shape and angularity suggest that it might have been conceived almost as a “pocket weapon”. The body of the bird is geometrically simplified, with a triangle emphasising the shape of the tail and an incised circle describing the eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHenri Gaudier was born in St. Jean de Braye, near Orleans, in France. He first came to Britain in 1908. He met Sophie Brzeska while working as a student in the evenings at Ste. Genevieve Library in Paris in 1910. In the same year he left France under a cloud of social hostility and settled in England adding the name Brzeska to his own soon after. He worked in isolation until he met Middleton Murray in 1912, whereafter he built up a circle of artists and intellectuals which included Ezra Pound, Wyndham Lewis and T. E. Hulme. He became involved in Pound's and Lewis' Vorticist group, contributing to the two issues of their magazine Blast. Gaudier was killed in action during the First World War in Belgium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese replicas are handmade in Norfolk by Alistair Burgass, exclusively for Kettle's Yard.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alistair Burgass","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8642993455203,"sku":"24003","price":54.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2611\/1744\/products\/Alistair_Burgass_Henri_Gaudier-Brzeska_Duck_Replica_1_b7c81723-ca92-4e3d-929f-40955b502466.jpg?v=1657802514"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2611\/1744\/collections\/Toy-Duck-Gaudier-Brzeska-Model.jpg?v=1756984595","url":"https:\/\/shop.kettlesyard.co.uk\/collections\/henri-gaudier-brzeska-toy-duck-replicas.oembed","provider":"Kettle's Yard Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}