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Edvard Eriksen (b. Copenhagen 1876, d. s.p. 1959)

“The Little Mermaid”. Signed Edvard Eriksen. Sculpture of green patinated bronze. H. 93 cm.

In 1913 “The Little Mermaid” was placed on Langelinie, Copenhagen. The sculpture was financed by the brewer Carl Jacobsen. Originally Jacobsen's plan was to place the sculpture in an artificial waterbasin surrounded by an arrangement of flowers. But after some time, Edvard Eriksen managed to talk Jacobsen into placing the mermaid in a more natural surrounding on a rock by the seaside. The figure is executed in three different sizes, of which this one is half the size of the original sculpture, thereby making it the largest of the three bronze-variations excluding the one in 4/5 size displayed in Osaka, Japan. In accordance with the artist's will no subsequent copies were to be made in the same size as the mermaid on Langelinie.

Literature: Egon Eriksen, “Edvard Eriksen og Den lille Havfrue” (Edvard Eriksen and the Little Mermaid), 1998, a version of the same size as the present sculpture is reproduced p. 25.

Provenance: Herman Sauer, president of an international gas, oil and shipping conglomerate. The work brought him and his family to several continents, where they resided in places such as Puerto La Cruz and Caracas, Venezuela, Sydney, Australia, New York, United States, London, United Kingdom, and Marbella, Spain.

Mrs. Sauer, who had informed us that Mr. Sauer bought the sculpture from Edvard Eriksen's family fund and had it sent to Gibraltar, where the sculpture was included in the interior of the restaurant “Neptune House”, owned by H. Sauer.

This lot is subject to Artist's Royalty.
Condition

Condition report on request. Please contact: fine-art@bruun-rasmussen.dk

Additional Remarks

Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.

Auction

Paintings and antiquities, 28 May 2019

Category
Estimate

150,000–200,000 DKK

Sold

Price realised

200,000 DKK