Émile Guillemin was a celebrated 19th-century French sculptor whose Victorian-era masterpieces showed a deep love and appreciation for Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. He worked with the esteemed Barbedienne Foundry to create bronze figurative sculptures of exquisite detail. He also made statuesque bronze floor lamps and glinting silver centerpieces that retain their luster and charm to this day.
Guillemin was born in Paris in 1841. His father was sculptor Auguste Guillemin, who worked for aristocrats producing copies of ancient busts. Guillemin studied under his father and under sculptor Jean-Jules Salmson. He first exhibited his work at the Paris Salon of 1870 with two statues of Roman gladiators and continued showing his work at Paris Salons over the next three decades.
Although Guillemin was a prolific sculptor with a wide-ranging repertoire, he is most known for his Orientalist-style pieces, a term denoting the exoticization of Asian and Middle Eastern art in the West. What made Guillemin's work stand out was the great sensitivity and care he put into depicting his subjects in an accurate manner. From Japanese courtesans to Indian falconers, his subjects don accurate re-creations of the clothing, hairstyles and accouterments of their cultures.
Today, Guillemin's pieces remain in high demand. In 2008, a pair of busts he crafted in 1884, called Femme Kabyle d'Algerie and Janissaire du Sultan Mahmoud II, sold at auction for more than $1 million.
On 1stDibs, find Émile Guillemin sculptures, lighting and tableware.
$338,432 / set
Pair of Orientalist Sculpted Busts by Guillemin
By Émile Guillemin
Located in London, GB
Pair of Orientalist sculpted busts by Guillemin French, circa 1880-1890 Male figure: Height 89.5cm, width 65cm, depth 40cm Female figure: Height 79.5...
Marble, Bronze
Pair of 19th Century French Terracotta Busts of Children Signed E. Guillemin
By Émile Guillemin
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate an office shelf with this cheerful pair of antique terracotta children busts. Crafted in Paris, France circa 1880, each subject features a child face sculpture standing on a black painted socle base. Each figure has wonderful facial expressions and nice details. Both artworks are signed on the back E. Guillemin with marks reading "Quai Jemmapes 6". The busts are in excellent condition with the original terracotta patinated finish. Émile Coriolan Hippolyte Guillemin (1841-1907) was a French sculptor of the Belle Époque. He worked mainly in bronze and also made artwork subjects in terracotta. He studied under his father, the painter Auguste Guillemin, and under Jean-Jules Salmson. He showed work at the Salon of Paris from 1870-1899, and in 1897 received an honorable mention there. His sculptures incorporated themes inspired by the French revolution, Mediterranean mythology, and orientalist aesthetics. His oeuvre is reminiscent of other mid-18th century European bronze sculptors, including Jef Lambeaux, Marcel...
Terracotta
Émile Guillemin, A Fine Orientalist Bust of a Young Woman
By Émile Guillemin
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin (French, 1841-1907) A Fine Multipatinated Bronze Orientalist Bust of A Young Woman. Signed and dated 'Ele. ...
Bronze
$3,400 / set
H 13 in W 7.5 in D 5 in
Pair Of Late 19th Century Polychrome Terracotta Busts By Friedrich Goldscheider
By Goldsheider
Located in San Francisco, CA
A superb pair of late 19th century Austrian polychrome terracotta busts by Friedrich Goldscheider, both figures stamped to the reverse. This pair of busts are in excellent original c...
Terracotta
Pair of 19th Century Busts
Located in Madrid, ES
Pair of 19th century busts. These are 2 19th century Gesso painted busts of 2 archaeologists of the period. Measurements: 69 x 62 x 28 Y 65 x 60 x 30 Good condition.
Gesso
Italian Marble Bust of a Smiling Young Woman, Signed Tiruk
Located in Montreal, QC
This bust sensitively captures the beauty and innocence of youth. Her thick hair is worn in a single braid; her head is thrown back as she laughs. The sculptor, who signs indistinctl...
Marble
Bust of a Young Woman in Marble and Alabaster
Located in Marseille, FR
Bust of a young woman in marble and alabaster, height 68 cm for a width of 40 cm and a depth of 30 cm. Signed Prof. Besfi. Additional information: Material: Alabaster, Marble & onyx
Marble
19th Century Victorian Neo Classical Terracotta Bust
Located in New York, NY
Classical terracotta bust in very good original condition showing only light cosmetic wear normal and consistent with age. The bust depicts a woman’s head, her hair is tied back in ...
Terracotta
Pair of 19th Century Orientalist Bronze Busts
Located in Tarzana, CA
A pair of superb quality 19th century gilt and patinated bronze orientalist busts. Each young lady dressed in traditional middle eastern attire...
Bronze
19th Century Italian Terracotta Bust of a Classical Male
Located in Houston, TX
19th century Italian terracotta bust of a classical male. This monumental antique Italian terracotta bust sculpture of a classical Roman male is a well executed statement piece and...
Terracotta
19th Century French Terracotta Bust
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality French 19th patinated terracotta bust of a classical lady, mounted on a Rouge marble sockel.
Terracotta
Pair of Terra Cotta Orientalist Busts of a Woman and a Man
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Standout pair of 19th century French Orientalist busts crafted in terra cotta and expertly paint decorated with a striking realism.
Terracotta
Pair of Antique Orientalist Terracotta Busts
Located in London, GB
Pair of late 19th century Terracotta Busts featuring Orientalist figures, both busts wearing a headscarf and a necklace.
Terracotta
A Stellmacher, Terracotta Bust, Arab, 19th Century
By Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel
Located in MARSEILLE, FR
Rare orientalist bust in polychrome terracotta of an Arab, bearing the mark R St K, for Riessner, Stellmacher and Kessel, as well as the number 1525 The features are very fine, maki...
Terracotta
$4,547Sale Price|29% Off
H 21.25 in W 12.5 in D 9 in
19th-20th Century Orientalist Terracotta Bust of Girl Attributed to Goldscheider
By Goldscheider Manufactory of Vienna
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An Austrian 19th-20th century Orientalist terracotta bust of a young girl in Middle-Eastern Garb. The young smiling beauty wearing a head scaft and shawl tied with a broche-pin brooch pin and jewlry around her neck, raised on a circular ebonized wood stand. Probably by Friedrich Goldscheider (Goldscheider'sche Porzellan-Manufactur und Majolica-Fabrik) - The backside stamped: "T - No. 258". circa 1900. The Goldscheider Manufactory and Majolica Factory (German: Goldscheider'sche Porzellan-Manufactur und Majolica-Fabrik, (now) Goldscheider Keramik) is an Austrian ceramic manufactory. In 1885, Friedrich Goldscheider came from the small Bohemian city of Pilsen to Vienna and founded the Goldscheider Manufactory and Majolica Factory. It became one of the most influential ceramic manufactories of terracotta, faience and bronze objects in Austria with subsidiaries in Paris, Leipzig and Florence. For over half a century Goldscheider created masterpieces of historical revivalism, Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) and Art Deco. Famous artists such as Josef Lorenzl, Stefan Dakon, Ida Meisinger and the two perhaps best known Austrian ceramic artists Michael Powolny and Vally Wieselthier worked for Goldscheider. Several of the artists who worked for Goldscheider also worked for other Viennese studios, such as Augarten, Keramos or for the German brands Rosenthal and Meissen. The Goldscheider family emigrated in 1938 to United Kingdom and USA. Walter Goldscheider startet a new factory in Trenton, New Jersey and returned to Vienna in 1950. Marcel Goldscheider went to Stoke-on-Trent and produced figurative ceramics for Myott and opened his own studio in the 1950s in Hanley. Both brothers died in the early 1960s. More than 10,000 different models were created over a period of three generations. Since the very beginning many of these won first prizes and gold medals at innumerable world fairs, exhibitions and trade fairs. Goldscheider figures...
Terracotta, Wood
Sold
H 21.5 in W 10 in
E. Guillemin, (1841-1907) An Antique French Bust of a Nubian in Original Gilt and Patinated Bronze mounted on Rouge Marble Base
By Émile Guillemin
Located in New York, NY
E. Guillemin, (1841-1907) A very Important and quite Unique, Antique French Bust of a Nubian in Original Gilt and Patinated Bronze, finely mounted ...
Bronze
19th Century Sculpture Titled "What a Fly" by E. Guillemin
By Émile Guillemin
Located in Queens, NY
Signed by E. Guillemin and titled "What a Fly," this 19th century metal torso is composed in the form of an African American boy wearing a plumed straw hat...
Metal