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Bronze Platypus on Glass

Sculpture up to 6cm D approx handmade in Australia.

$245.00 inc GST

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Solid bronze sculpture of a Platypus on Glass with either a light blue or green tinge 4.5cm H x 6cm D.

Expert swimmers, Platypus use their webbed feet to propel themselves and use their tails to steer through the water.  Their dense, silky brown fur is both waterproof and insulating – along with the fat reserves in their tails, their fur allows them to stay warm underwater.

Their ‘duck bill’ is flexible, rubbery and feels like suede.  Platypus use their bills to dig up food from the riverbed, but they’re also highly sensitive.  They are found in freshwater creeks and rivers of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.  They can live in many habitats, from tropical rainforest creeks to streams in alpine areas.

Females breed at 4 years.  After burrowing deep into the riverbank, pregnant females lay one or two eggs.  Here, curled up in protective chambers, they incubate their eggs between their tail and rump.  Bean-sized babies emerge from the egg after 10 days and are fed milk for about four months.

Platypuses are mostly nocturnal.  During the day they sleep in the chambers at the end of riverbank burrows.  At dusk they emerge to search the river bottom for food, sometimes hunting for 10 to 12 hours a night.  They live for up to 12 years.

This piece is beautifully designed by Tony Kean, Craftsman, Jeweler and Sculptor.  Tony taught art and craft in secondary schools for over 20 years.  Since 1979 his workmanship has developed a beautiful range of jewellery, sculpture and utilitarian items which capture the essence of Australia’s landscape and it’s unique birds and animals. In that time he has earned a reputation as a sensitive designer and master craftsman, maintaining rigid control over the quality of his work and the quantity which the workshop produced.

With fine attention to detail he captures the charm of the Platypus and the graceful lines of the native Gumleaf.  The country’s abundant natural resources are utilized in Tony’s designs, pebbles and stones washed smooth by oceans and rivers form the bases for many of his small sculptures.

Over the years Tony has become an artistic ambassador for Australia.  His work has been presented to international visitors by the Commonwealth and State Governments as well as being presented by Australia’s Prime Minister when travelling overseas on official visits.

In the very important area of gift giving, the discerning gift giver can find in Tony’s work many of the characteristics which go into making up that special gift – a very personal, individual expression in design, fresh and unique articles and a reflection of personally controlled high standards of hand craftsmanship – the human touch.

Each piece comes nicely boxed with a Profile of Tony.

Tony Kean

Tony Kean, Craftsman, Jeweller and Sculptor, works from an isolated studio in rural Victoria.   Since 1979 his workmanship has developed a beautiful range of jewellery and sculpture capturing the essence of Australia’s unique birds and animals.

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