A picker in Santa Maria, CA recently contact me about a sculpted Laruccia tree he purchased from an estate sale. The piece is an example of the windswept version about 8-9 inches high. The polished finish and style places it in the early 1970s. The metal is copper braised with a copper alloy. The branch work and trunk are reclaimed copper cable and the pebble base is copper shot braised inside a copper cable ring using a copper alloy.
The piece is in need of some TLC as all the glass fruit has fallen off and a few of the root tips appear to be broken. While I made an offer, it was refused by the picker. I was hoping it would come up on EBay but I have not seen it yet. I think the fellow either paid more than my offer or has an inflated idea of the pieces value or decided to keep it in his collection. It was most probably originally sold at Gump's in San Francisco.
Michael Hutchings
Coppersmith
