Breyer's Bronze Age

Bronze as a material dates back thousands of years – first used to cast tools, weapons and coins, bronze statues first appeared in the Indus Valley Civilization around 2500 BCE. Horses, forever an artistic muse, soon became a common subject in bronze sculpture as it flourished. A few notable examples include the Ancient Greek Jockey of Artemision, dating back to around 150-140 BCE, and Venice’s Horses of Saint Mark, dating back to the 2^nd or 3rd century CE. As Breyer began to push the boundaries of weaving play and art together in its model horse offerings, forays into bronze – both faux and real – were a natural step.

“Ageless Bronze,” a colorway introduced in 1991, was Breyer’s first commercially-available “bronze” model. Hyksos, created on the Black Stallion (mold #401), was painted with a shiny faux-bronze patina. A similar color was released nine years later on Smoky (mold #69) as Durango. Both models were Commemorative Editions released for one year only and numbered by hand on their bellies. This color was also used for two auction models sold at BreyerFest 1993: a Five Gaiter and a Man O’ War.

Durango (2000) and Hyksos (1991), "ageless bronze" Commemorative Editions

In 2002, Breyer delved into an interesting experiment: creating actual, metal bronzes from its sculptures. To create these works of art, Breyer collaborated with professional casters and used the “lost-wax” process – a time-consuming method that dates back to antiquity. This complicated process includes approximately a dozen steps from the creation of a sculpture to its finished duplicate in bronze. To begin, a wax mold is painstakingly created from an original sculpture using thin, molten layers built up in a plaster cast one by one. The original sculpture needs to be broken into multiple pieces to make this possible. Once the wax is thick enough to capture all sculptural details, it is then removed from its plaster housing and the pieces reassembled into the full sculpture. Sprues and channels are created and attached to the wax sculpture, which will help the molten bronze flow correctly. After this, the wax is dipped into a slurry that will create a “shell mold” of the sculpture within, and this mold is heated in a kiln to harden – the wax then melts out, hence the term “lost-wax.” The empty void left behind is where the molten bronze will pour and settle, leaving bronze where the wax once was. After the outer shell mold is broken and brushed away, the final bronze artwork has its sprues removed, surface cleaned, and a finishing patina applied. No parts of these molds are reusable, and hours of painstaking work are required to create just a single bronze piece. (The Cleveland Museum of Art has an excellent animation on their YouTube channel that explains this process step-by-step.)

Breyer’s bronzes were first sold at special events such as the Scottsdale Arabian Show and the BreyerFest Artisans’ Gallery. While the bronzes are marked with a number on the base, usually out of /250 or /500, very few of these pieces were actually made – approximately 10-25 of each style – because they never officially made it past the prototyping stage. The bronzes sold at Scottsdale and BreyerFest were the initial tests for this potential offering, but it was decided that Breyer bronzes would not go forward into larger production. This, combined with the fact that each sculpture was offered in a variety of finish and base options while the total numbers were already so low, has made these bronzes incredibly desirable and collectible pieces of Breyer history.

A total of six sculptures from the Breyer lineup were selected to undergo this meticulous process, many of which were Arabian or Arabian-type horses to appeal to potential customers at Scottsdale. The sculptures were:

• “Elegance” – Arabian mare in costume, based on the Fine Porcelain Premier Arabian Mare.
• “Gentle Giant” – trotting draft horse, based on the Classics Shire, “head up” version.
• “Huckleberry Bey” – trotting Arabian stallion, based on the Traditional Huckleberry Bey.
• “The Gift” – Arabian mare and newborn foal, based on the Traditional Susecion and Le Fire.
• “Wild and Free” – rearing horse, based on the Traditional Silver.
• “Texas Legend” – standing Longhorn bull, based on the vintage Texas Longhorn. (Fun fact – one was produced with polished gold horns!)

Pieces were finished in either black, bronze or a green “verdigris” patina, and a variety of bases were used, including marble and finished wood in multiple colors. After this initial group of bronzes was made, it was decided that the line would not go into further production. The remaining inventory was put into storage until 2009, when they were inspected by a professional bronze expert and dispersed through various sales avenues.

Elegance, black patina with black marble base

Huckleberry Bey, verdigris patina with black marble base

The Gift, bronze patina with green marble base

Gentle Giant, black patina with black marble base

Wild and Free, verdigris patina with wood base

Texas Legend, bronze patina with wood base and polished gold horns

While this experiment did not turn into a fully-fledged Breyer line, bronze has continued to inspire designs through today. In 2008, a special collection of “Medalist” ponies was introduced to celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympics. These three hunter ponies were created in three different colors: a familiar gold and silver charm, plus a unique “bronze charm” that has not been used since. 2017 also brought Bandera, a stock horse in a faux-bronze finish and decorated with various brands used by American Quarter Horse ranches.

Olympic Medalist Ponies (2008)

Bandera (2017) in matte and glossy finish

The BreyerFest Live Auction has also offered faux-bronze models in the past, including a solid bronze Barb (mold #722) in 2016 and a splatter dappled bronze Goffert (mold #702) in 2021.

Lot #3, Bronze Decorator - BreyerFest 2016

Lot #5, Glossy Dappled Resist Copper - BreyerFest 2021

Whether you’re enjoying a plastic “ageless bronze” model or a beautifully-cast sculpture, Breyer’s bronzes have brought the equestrian spirit to life through magnificent works of art that will be treasured for years to come.