Origin of the Statue
The Affe mit Schädel (monkey with skull), is a famous work by the late-19th century German sculptor Hugo Rheinhold. '; text += 'The statuette is otherwise known as the "Affe einen Schädel betrachtend" (monkey viewing or contemplating a skull). '; text += 'It was first exhibited in 1893 at the Große Berliner Kunstaustellung (Great Berlin Art Exhibition).
Detailed description of the Statue
The Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is sitting atop a higgledy-piggledy pile of books and manuscripts. '; text += 'The subject is likely female in the absence of any contradictory evidence. She has in her right forepaw a human skull, echoing the scene in Shakespeare' + "'" + 's '; text += 'Hamlet where the Prince of Denmark bereaves Yorick ("Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him..."). She cradles her chin with her other forepaw in a contemplative posture. '; text += 'Her left foot hold the shin of her right leg as if to steady it or support the calipers held by her right foot. A spine of one of the closed books reads "Darwin". '; text += 'The book open at her feet and facing the viewer has a single inscription on the right hand page: "eritis sicut deus" from Genesis 3.5 when the serpent is enticing '; text += 'Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden against the Lord' + "'" + 's command, promising "And ye shall be as God [knowing good and evil]"),'; text += ' however the second half of this quote is missing, ripped from the lower half of the page.
Motivation for the Statue
What inspired Rheinhold in making his sculpture is unknown, although it has obvious parallels with Auguste Rodin' + "'" + 's '; text += '"The Thinker". It is perhaps surprising to discover that while Rodin had developed his statue as early as 1880, it was not cast into bronze and displayed until after the '; text += 'Affe mit Schädel had debuted.
Interpretative meaning of the Statue
The excised Biblical quote possibly suggests that good and evil cannot be known, or told apart. With the ape'+"'"+'s '; text += 'study, the library of books and the caliper instruments, the suggestion is that the statue is warning against the application of rationalism in the absence of morality.
'; text += 'Such a message is resonant of the late Michael Crichton'+"'"+'s works, which were frequently cautionary. His plots often portrayed scientific advancements going awry, commonly resulting '; text += 'in worst-case scenarios. A notable recurring theme in Crichton'+"'"+'s plots is the pathological failure of complex systems and their safeguards, whether biological (Jurassic Park), '; text += 'military/organizational (The Andromeda Strain), technical (Airframe) or cybernetic (Westworld). This theme of the inevitable breakdown of "perfect" systems and the failure of '; text += '"fail-safe measures" can be seen strongly in the poster for Westworld (slogan: "Where nothing can possibly go worng[sic] ..") and in the discussion of chaos theory in Jurassic Park.'; text += '
Furthermore, when a human is depicted holding a skull it is usually a comment on mortality and a caution about the inevitability of death, famously Hamlet bereaves Yorick in one '; text += 'instance but is soon repulsed by this macabre souvenir as it brings him face-to-face with all life'+"'"+'s grim destiny. But, for Hugo Rheinhold'+"'"+'s ape it is something '; text += 'quite different. The ape is engaged in assessment and measurement (confirmed by the callipers also held). The countenance is not one of sorrow through personal loss nor is it '; text += 'melancholic through an encounter with such a physical embodiment of quietus. Is it studious indifference in the gaze, or has a whimsical consideration led to a risible parenthesis? '; text += 'Has the ape chanced upon the measure of man? Indeed, that we should even consider this level of intelligence in another species is a bold examination of ourselves through eyes '; text += 'that bear witness to the disproportionate leverage historically awarded humankind. Is not the whole relationship and divide between man and animal conjured up in this single image? '; text += 'So, Darwinian reasoning places us further up the diverging evolutionary tree than our closest genetic companions. Yet, thanks to completion of the Human Genome Project, we now '; text += 'know that the chimpanzee featured in the statue shares 95.2% of our genotype, nevertheless, in spite of our morphological similarities and like physiology, there is an essential '; text += "'something' more that prescribes our special difference. That additional ingredient is our consciousness, albeit strange that "; text += '"conscious" and "conscience" are intrinsically separated more than their homophonic distance might suggest.
Thus we should be assured in our evolutionarily appointed position '; text += 'of superior intelligence, yet the possession of a consciousness that can only be explained in terms of unconscious events [Daniel C. Dennett 1996. Consciousness Explained. '; text += 'Penguin Books.] barely ratifies us as an extraordinary organism. If we are unable to explain this faculty, then, by applying Occam'+"'"+'s Razor, we are probably left with not much '; text += 'more than Descartes' + "'" + ' "I think therefore I am", such that human supremacy over the animal kingdom is balanced on this knife-edge of reason. In that case perhaps we should be '; text += 'wary of our confidence. Our precarious position atop the intellectual book pile is continually buffeted by the winds of dissent from a flourishing field of studies in animal sentience '; text += '(e.g., [Compassion in World Farming Trust, From Darwin to Dawkins, Conference, London, 17-18 March 2005]). Additionally, a recent claim reclassifies the chimpanzee with '; text += 'us, highest hominids, (as Homo troglodytes) on the basis of shared genetic history (and an alternative estimate of 99.4% shared DNA [Wildman, D.E., Uddin, M., Liu, G., Grossman, '; text += 'L.I. & Goodman, M. 2003. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100, 7181-7188]). Then perhaps our summit is shrinking, and in future we may find it difficult to '; text += 'defend an ossified prominence fossilized through presumption.
A higher position? Are we sure of that? Apes studying Darwin? Calm! Relax now. The statuette is not really suggesting '; text += 'a Planet Of The Apes-like negation of human superiority by another species (preserved in our paranoia by Pierre Boulle'+"'"+'s Monkey Planet, John Wyndham'+"'"+'s The '; text += 'Day of the Triffids, H.G. Wells'+"'"+' War of the Worlds, &co.). Mitigation of our control over the rest of the animal kingdom might be assumed for one version of the '; text += 'statuette ("The Tables Turned" attributed to Randolph Caldecott), however, even this reference is not one of some Doomsday scenario depicting human slavery at the paws of super-intelligent '; text += 'primates. This William Wordsworth poem actually speaks more of animal rights under vivisection and the introspection of academic endeavour, rather than the threatened rise of a subordinate species. '; text += 'Hugo Rheinhold'+"'"+'s original inscription "eritis sicut deus" (sometimes wrongly "eritus..."), either suggests that Darwinian understanding may lead to Frankenstinian abuse of life'+"'"+'s '; text += 'essence, or a more inclusive innocence that recognises a place for other advanced life-forms on our intellectual podium, if only we can just accommodate those guests.
Reproduction of the Statue
While debuting at the Große Berliner Kunstaustellung, the Affe mit Schädel became noticed by the Gladenbeck foundry '; text += '(set up by Carl Gustav Hermann Gladenbeck in 1851). Purchasing the rights to the statue, the foundry featured it as a bronze in their catalogue, and it became popular through '; text += 'its quirky originality. The 30 cm full-size moulds disappeared with the closure of the Gladenbeck foundry but Bildgießerei Seiler GmbH obtained the 13 cm Gladenbeck '; text += 'casting mould (Nr. 1194).
Distribution of the Statue
Gladenbeck editions of the statue are displayed at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Aberdeen'+"'"+'s '; text += 'Medico-Chirurgical Society, the Boston Medical Library and the Medical Library of Queen'+"'"+'s University, Kingston, Ontario, and '; text += 'also in Calgary, Cottbus, Gloucester, Kerikeri, Munnekeburen, Oakville, Osaka, Oxford, Salem am Bodensee, Stevens Point, Vienna, and famously on Lenin'+"'"+'s desk in the Kremlin. '; text += 'One was even salvaged from a WWII Junkers 88 at the bottom of Lake Attersee (Austria).
Variations of the Statue
A few foundries in Germany and elsewhere still produce failthfully accurate editions of the Affe mit Schädel. These editions '; text += 'tend to vary only in patinas and execution of the calipers. Other versions less faithful to the original, typically out of the USA, mutate the chimp'+"'"+'s pensive '; text += 'contemplation to head-scratching bewildement, or sacrifice metallic lustre by substitution of cheaper materials (e.g., clay), and often undermine the sculpture'+"'"+'s '; text += 'poise with careless positioning of a plastic skull. Prices currently range from $10 to $4,500. When they do rarely surface in auction or through private sale, Gladenbeck pieces '; text += 'can fetch up to $6,000.
Production at the bronze foundry
Thomas Blakemore was established in 1847 in Staffordshire, England. A foundry, manufacturing home decorative accessories in '; text += 'brass: candlesticks, candelabra, wall sconces, fireside equipment, bookends, globes, gentlemen'+"'"+'s gifts and library accessories, etc.
The company has been '; text += 'producing versions of the Darwin Monkey for the best part of half a century. These versions were accurately based on the bona fide form of the Affe mit '; text += 'Schädel as conceived by Hugo Rheinhold, thereby making them highly sought after for their loyalty to his original vision. These previous versions garnered great favour '; text += 'amongst collectors, even though they were cold cast bronze, also know as bronze resin, a technique which blends bronze powder with epoxy resin and shaped using a silicone mould. '; text += 'The company has ceased to work with bronze resin, favoring instead production of beautiful high quality products made entirely from bronze. And so, the Darwin Monkey on offer via '; text += 'this website is indeed a 100% pure bronze, high quality statue.
The company moved to India in 2004 '; text += 'to manufacture lost wax investment castings, perfect definition bronze castings, produced in the same method used by the French craftsmen in 1750 to produce custom made lamps '; text += 'in French Ormolu designs.
All products are produced in the same factory to guarantee quality control. Our quality control manager inspects each sub-component and total '; text += 'product.
The company employs 70 people managed by English Staff. Our staff has been trained in France by craftsmen, skills passed down for generations.
'; text += 'The Foundry Department uses the latest German pressure casting technology, casting in bronze and silver. Lost wax investment casting - perfect '; text += 'highly detailed castings. Each casting is hand polished and hand chased, chiselled then hand burnished.
Packaging of your statue
We take great care to ensure the safety of your statue in transit. Therefore, your statue will be protected using a system of a reinforced '; text += 'cardboard box, polystyrene peanut chips and thermocol moulded polystyrene sheeting.
Shipping your statue to you
Your packaged statue will be loaded in to a freight container and on to a courier lorry at the foundry. This will avoid handling of separate packages between the foundry and the dispatch points in the UK and USA.
The courier is internationally recognised for their reliability, speed and security. Their cargo handling system is fully trackable and promises "guaranteed time-definite and day-definite delivery worldwide".
Please proceed to the purchasing page to see the cost of shipping to your destination.
Returns policy
In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with your statue, you can return it to us and we will refund the purchase price. However, please be aware that we cannot refund the cost of shipping the statue to you. If you do wish to return your statue, you must contact us within 14 days to arrange safe return of the statue in its original condition. You will also need to pay the costs of returning the statue to us.
The price of your statue
We are proud to bring to you your large, pure bronze statue at an incredibly low unit price for such a high quality item. To remind you, your statue measures approximately (height) 31 cm x (width) 18 cm x (depth) 20 cm and weighs approximately 10kg. All prices are inclusive of VAT, however, please allow for additional shipping costs (see below). Please see the section on how to Pay for information on how to place your order. The unit price for your statue is as follows:
The following shipping rates are '; text += 'a cost that you must regretably pay in addition to the unit price for your statue. These rates should be taken as a guideline only. Please make contact to confirm these amounts.
'; text += 'Import duties
We do not expect you'+"'"+'re needing to pay import duties (tax), nor any other surcharges. We ask you to pay only the unit price plus shipping. However, countries may vary in how they assess and levy customs import duties. Please be aware that the country where you wish your statue to be delivered will have import regulations, and that you might be well advised to enquire about any import costs.
The price of your statue
We are proud to bring to you your large, pure bronze statue at an incredibly low unit price for such a high quality item. To remind you, your statue measures approximately (height) 31 cm x (width) 18 cm x (depth) 20 cm and weighs approximately 10kg. All prices are inclusive of VAT, however, please allow for additional shipping costs (see below). Please see the section on how to Pay for information on how to place your order. The unit price for your statue is as follows:
The following shipping rates are '; // text += 'a cost that you must regretably pay in addition to the unit price for your statue. These rates should be taken as a guideline only. Please make contact to confirm these amounts.
'; // text += 'Import duties
We do not expect you'+"'"+'re needing to pay import duties (tax), nor any other surcharges. We ask you to pay only the unit price plus shipping. However, countries may vary in how they assess and levy customs import duties. Please be aware that the country where you wish your statue to be delivered will have import regulations, and that you might be well advised to enquire about any import costs.
How to pay for your statue
We want you to feel secure about paying for your statue. PayPal Checkout has a customer protection program that provides excellent security for online transactions using either your PayPal account or directly using your credit card or bank account. If one of these methods is acceptable to you, then please proceed to the purchasing page (BUY) to submit your order.
Alternatively, you are welcome to send a personal cheque, or send your payment by direct "wire transfer" from your bank account. Please make contact to submit your order, if you prefer one of these methods.
How to order your statue
Orders may be placed securely online by clicking on the button below, or by email or telephone if you prefer (please see the contact page for details).
Contact details
All enquiries and requests welcomed.
telephone
+44 (0)77 22 510 579
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