Peter Vischer the Elder

Family Coat of Arms

and Lorenz’ Grave Plate

Bronze Bibra Coat of Arms

By some literature attributed to Peter Vischer the Elder. Peter Vischer and his family’s workshop in Nuremberg was the foremost bronze foundry in Europe in the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. The Vischers did do Lorenz von Bibra’s bronze grave plate (Würzburg Catherdral) which was start by Peter the Elder and finished by Hans Vischer, did Anton von Bibra’s grave plate about 1536, and the Vischers collected a late payment for a Bibra work in 1529 from the Bishopric of Bamberg it is reasonable that Peter Vischer or his workshop may have produced the original casts. At least one original cast in Irmelshausen courtyard, Germany. Another original (marked#3) is/was apparently in Nuremberg, Germany.

This bronze copy origin is as follows. I, Carl S. von Bibra, received an aluminum copy around 1998. It was made from either an original or from an aluminum copy at Irmelshausen. In order to make a bronze copy in was necessary for me to clean up the aluminum copy since a bronze copy would show all the recasting defects such a grain of sands and small air pockets. Additionally, a small crack on the crown and “undercastings” needed to be filled.

The bronze casting was done by the Gassor/Olds of Vernon, California in 2001. Finally, the final polishing and finishing was done by myself. Later, they rough finished a number of copies. I had eleven made. With several of them, I patinaed them with ammonium sulfate. The owner (now merged) made a copy for himself.