Antique Dresden Brass Animal Wreath — German All-Holiday Wall Sculpture, 12x13

An antique brass Dresden wreath. The form goes back to Germany in the late 1800s, where wreaths like this were built from charms struck in old candy molds and ornament dies.

Close to thirty small brass figures, each one flat-stamped in relief and wired individually to a brass ring, and almost none of them repeat. There is an ostrich, a camel, an elephant, a lion, a running tiger, a standing bear, a horned bull, a crocodile, a stag with full antlers, a fox, a hare sitting up, a rooster, an owl, a swan, a swallow in flight, and a pair of setters.

Then the scenes. Santa in his sleigh behind a reindeer. A man carrying a Christmas tree home over his shoulder, and children dragging another one. A horse and buggy with its driver. A cluster of wedding bells. And a jack-o'-lantern with a cut-out grin.

At the top is a large bow folded from sheet brass. The whole thing is held together with hand-bent wire, curled rather than cut to length.

A zoo, a Christmas, a Halloween and a wedding on one ring. That mix is the point. These were made to hang all year rather than come out for one month, which is why they are called all-holiday wreaths.

The brass is bare rather than lacquered, left to age on its own.

Sourced from a 1900 estate in Westport, Connecticut. About 12 inches wide by 13 inches tall.