“Owl on Books” 1930s Marion Bronze Bookends, original paint

This pair of antique bookends, featuring an owl on books with wings folded, were made by the Marion Bronze Company. With original polychrome paint (black, blue, red, white), the company’s moniker “MB” incised into the base of each (first of two letters is rather subtle and difficult to make out). It’s difficult to say with any certainty when this particular pair were made; best guess would range late-1920s through perhaps 1940s.

A pair of antique bronze-clad figural book ends (electroformed bronze over a plaster core) with original and beautifully intact patina, the base of each measures 3.75 by 3.75 inches, height is 8.4 inches, the pair weigh 6 lbs 14 oz, there are no breaks or tears in the bronze cladding, there is no felt on the bottoms (so the dimples with electrodes are plainly visible), both sit flat and stable. This MB pair are an identical design as a pair made by Pompeian Bronze, which are shown as #713 in Kuritzky and De Costa.