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Helmet is for viewer perspective only

Interesting combination presented for artistic appreciation

Kurt Schmid Ehmens Bronze Sculpture of the Magnificent Eagle of the German Pavilion at the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris (Item EAGLE 1-8; PARTEI 2-11 & ART 9-1A; BRONZE 1-5)

DESCRIPTION: Earlier on these pages, in the description of the Nuremberg Tribune Eagles by the artist Kurt Schmid Ehmen you will have read about our fortunate discovery and purchase of several of those wonderful eagle sculptures that were cast in the late 30’s and early 40’s at the Preussische Bergwerks u. Hutten A.G. in their Gleiwitz Foundries near Berlin. The artist, of course, of this eagle was none other than Herr Kurt Schmidt Ehmen (1901-1968). You can read about him and the Bergwerks foundry in the narrative at PARTEI 2-10 (above). Ehmen was the “Adlermeister” of the Third Reich and you can see mention of many of the most famous sites throughout the Reich where his sculpted masterpieces were displayed. We have cited several places that the National Socialists considered sacred or sacrosanct and the works of this artist were effectively employed, the list is most impressive. This Adlermeister or ‘Eagle Master’ was considered one of the finest bronze sculptors of Germany and right up there in the ranks of Arno Brecker and Josef Thorak. After the Party Congress eagles were unveiled and presented to the German public there was a huge demand for artistic renditions of them. The Nuremberg eagles were produced in zinc castings, bronze sculpture, and even sometimes in wood by the Black Forest carvers in the Alps. They were sold as souvenirs throughout the Reich especially at the stores in Nuremberg and surrounding areas at the time of the rallies and the ones that were in bronze by the Bergwerk u. Hutten were considered the best! They were definitely high-end souvenirs and were not made for any particular Party group or function. They were really quite costly in their day. Compared however to the white metal figures made mostly in Bavaria, they cost much more but were really superior in design and general good looks. Very dramatic in design. There was one sculpture however by Schmidt Ehmen that artistically exceeded the Tribune Eagles and that was the lofty, resplendent eagle that was created to be on the top of the Great Exhibition Hall in the German pavilion of the 1937 Paris World’s Fair. This was the absolutely majestic edifice designed by Albert Speer, Hitler’s great ‘Architect Extraordinaire’ and it was Kurt Schmid Ehmen who Speer commissioned to design and build the giant eagle that was seen dominating the view over all of the exhibition grounds. The power and majesty of this tower and this eagle figure were extremely awesome. At one point in time we had in our possession a scrapbook that belonged to the family who were the owners and proprietors of the Prussian Bergwerk u. Hutten AG. The family had collected photographs of the construction of the famous Paris eagle and also some great ones of the artist himself and his crew at work. There was also a great photo of the German Führer Adolf Hitler as he views two Schmidt Ehmen eagles along with architect Speer, prior to the finished masterpieces being erected. Now in a much more limited number thanks to our picker we received four of the Paris Exhibition bronze models that were produced at Gleiwitz at the same time as the Nuremberg eagles. The Paris eagle is much larger, bolder and a bit more detailed and although at first glance it looks very similar it is decidedly different and of course mounted much differently. With the gorgeous three tier marble base, the sculpture measures almost 20 inches high. The bronze eagle by itself is 10 inches high and 10 inches across the wing span. The base is in three separate marble tiers, The largest standing vertically that directly supports the eagle stands at 6"x 5" and 2 inches thick. The next horizontal piece of marble that the above marble piece is standing on is 9 x 3 inches and the bottom plinth is 11 inches long and 1 inch thick. The piece weighs a “heavy” 33 pounds. It is our opinion that this eagle has to just about be one of the finest and greatest relics of the Third Reich. There are items that are even rarer and certainly more expensive but when I think of the typical aesthetic style of the Thousand Year Reich, the first things that come to mind that reflect all the glory and power present at that time, would be the 1936 officers dagger with chain hanger and the Kurt Schmid Ehmen eagle. Nothing to me is in the end, more purely National Socialist. The Bergwerks foundry did not produce marble. That material had to be obtained back then at a nearby quarry firm near Gleiwitz. So everything was as it should have been and as it was in the Third Reich. The color, the size, the construction of the base is done to perfection and the marble or granite is in fine jet-black perfect stone. So in essence, the entire first sculptures were 100% original. The eagles are unsigned. The only one that we encountered signed was the pilot piece, and we think it was the single exception. We want to make it clear that no company still in existence today officially sold us these first eagles...they were bought from the relative of a onetime company official who was able to preserve them in secrecy all these years and now thought they should be out there in the collector and museum world. This eagle would make the ultimate center piece of any fine collection. Here is a noble bird that commands respect and dignity and could be the most overpowering item in your house other than possibly “the little lady”! PRICE: SOLD

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