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F. Barbedienne Foundry

French

Founded by one-time Parisian wallpaper dealer Ferdinand Barbedienne and engineer Achille Collas, one of the most revered foundries in 19th-century France began with the invention of a revolutionary 1830s-era device that could produce proportional reproductions — large or small — of sculptures. Collas’s machine, which yielded miniature likenesses of antiquities for the interiors of homes the world over, was pivotal to the success of the F. Barbedienne Foundry. The successful firm earned prestigious awards and critical acclaim and created exquisite bronze candleholders, clocks and lamps for a range of wealthy and prominent clients.

The duo first launched their company under the name Société Collas et Barbedienne, and early on, they optimized chemical processes for pigmenting and patinating their bronze statuettes. After Collas died in 1859, Barbedienne forged on alone, and the company’s name changed to simply F. Barbedienne.

Barbedienne employed more than 300 workers at that point, and the Maison created a range of furnishings and decorative objects that featured the integration of marble and ormolu accents. However, with the onset of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the foundry was forced to retrofit its molds, and the production of cannons replaced sculptures, furniture and vases.

When Ferdinand Barbedienne passed away in 1891, his nephew and heir, Gustave Leblanc, took over as president, changing the name to Leblanc-Barbedienne. Leblanc expanded production into Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, carrying on the company's legacy with monumental sculptures, and models and securing production rights for famous statues. Paul-Alexandre Dumas, an Art Nouveau maker and student of Louis Majorelle, succeeded Leblanc until the company's closing in 1952.

Barbedienne pieces had been exhibited regularly in the 19th century and were especially prevalent at Europe’s international expositions and world’s fairs, where they received numerous awards. Today, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris holds dozens of Barbedienne works in its collection, including intricate mirrors, vases and cups created by Louis-Constant Sévin at the foundry. For more than two decades, Sévin created lamps, boxes and more at Maison Barbedienne. Working alongside award-winning chaser Désiré Attarge, Sévin designed Napoleon III-era works that greatly appealed to European nobility.

Other notable artists who collaborated with Barbedienne included Eugene Aizelin, Emmanuel Fremiet, Antonin Mercié, Emile Guillemin, Edouard Lievre, Ferdinand Levillain and Auguste Rodin.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Barbedienne decorative objects, lighting and collectibles.

Average Sold Price
$8,521
Styles
Materials
Related Creators
Crouching Venus Large Grand Tour Bronze Patinated Sculpture F. Barbedienne
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in Rochester, NY
Grand tour bronze sculpture of the "Crouching Venus" after the antique. Fine patina. 19th century. Ferdinand Barbedienne (French, 1821-1902). # nude fe...
Category

19th Century French Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Bronze

French Bronze Sculpture of "Mercurio Volante" by F. Barbedienne Fondeur, Ca.1850
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in CH
French Bronze Sculpture of Mercury Signed F. Barbedienne Fondeur, Ca. 1850. This bronze statue of Mercury Volante is a copy of the late 16th Century bronze by the great French/Flemish/Italian sculptor Giambologna. The statue, signed Ferdinand Barbedienne Fondeur...
Category

1850s French Renaissance Revival Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Bronze

19th Century, Antique, Great Quality Bronze Wall Crucifix Signed: F. Barbedienne
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in Lisse, NL
Rare and important bronze crucifix by the French ‘fondeur’ F. Barbedienne. Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) does not need any further introduction, but that he also made this type...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Gothic Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Bronze

French Antique Bronze Sculpture"Walking Tiger"by Antoine-Louis Barye, Barbedienn
By F. Barbedienne Foundry, Antoine-Louis Barye
Located in Shippensburg, PA
ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE French, 1795-1875 "Tigre Qui Marche" Patinated bronze Signed in base "BARYE", incised "F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR, FRANCE" conceived 1841, cast circa 1880-1900 Item # 110UGP10Q Barye's ability to merge our romantic idealization of nature with a colder reality of nature's predator is beautifully represented in this striding cat. Originally conceived in 1841, Tigre Qui Marche (Walking Tiger...
Category

19th Century French Romantic Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mantel Clock by Henri Picard & Fedinand Barbedienne
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Very Fine French 19th Century Gilt-Bronze Figural Mantel Clock, Horloge à Poser, by Henri Picard and Fedinand Barbedienne - ‘F. Barbédienne & Cie. / A Paris’, after the model by É...
Category

19th Century French Louis XVI Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mantel Clock by Henri Picard & Fedinand Barbedienne
Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mantel Clock by Henri Picard & Fedinand Barbedienne
$46,000 Sale Price
20% Off
H 27.25 in W 22.5 in D 27.25 in
Large Signed Barbedienne Antique French Bronze Sculpture of the Venus de Milo
By F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique bronze sculputre. Depicting the Venus de Milo. After the ancient model by Alexandros of Antioch. Bearing an Achille Collas reduction seal and a Barbedienne mark. P...
Category

19th Century French Belle Époque Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Bronze

Japonisme Ormolu and Cloisonne Enamel Jardiniere by Ferdinand Barbedienne
By Ferdinand Barbedienne, F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in New York, NY
A dual-handled jardinière with black cloisonne ornamented with flowers, butterflies and foliage. Origin: France, Paris  Date: Last quarter of the 19th Century   Stamped F. BARBEDI...
Category

Late 19th Century French Japonisme Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Magnificent Console by Barbedienne, Falguière and Dubois, France, Circa 1880
By Paul Dubois, Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière 1, F. Barbedienne Foundry
Located in PARIS, FR
Total height with mirror: 383 cm (151 in.) Console : Height : 97 cm (38 in.) ; Length : 291 cm (114 in.) ; Depth : 47 cm (18 in.) Height with pedestals : 178 cm (70 in.) – Width of pedestals tops : 36 x 23 cm (14 x 9 in.) Provenance: Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, for the Conte de Chambrun, 12 rue Monsieur, 7th arrondissement, Paris. This magnificent white carrare and bleu turquin marble Louis XVI style console is embellished with carved and gilded bronze ornaments. The belt, adorned with a fluted frieze, masks of Bacchus and rosettes, is standing on six spirally fluted feet with foliage on the extremities. The part meant to be placed against the wall is divided in several pannels framed with moulded and beaded bronze. Above the console stands a giltwood and white-painted mirror, richly decorated at its top with a carved head of Apollo flanked by acanthus leaves and treillis. The mirror is framed by two patinated bronze female figures, each holding seven-light candelabra and standing on pedestals richly adorned with laurel garlands and bronze frames. These are casts by F.Barbedienne, after models by J.A.J. Falguière and P.Dubois (they are signed to the base, one ‘FALGVIERE and F.BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR’, the other ‘P.DUBOIS’ and ‘F.BARBEDIENNE’). The original models of these bronzes were shown at the 1867 Exposition Universelle before being installed at the Château de Compiègne for the enjoyment of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. The masterful console was commissionned to Barbedienne around 1880 to garnish the interiors of the Conte de Chambrun at the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, 12 rue Monsieur, 7th arrondissement, Paris. This console was part of the sale of the count’s art and furniture collections that took place on the 18th of June 1900 after the count’s death (listed as lot n°52 in the sale catalogue). Born in 1810, died in Paris in 1892, Ferdinand Barbedienne, the most important caster of bronze pieces of art during the second half of the 19th Century, created and directed in Paris one of the major artistic founderies of his time. Barbedienne specialised in classical reproductions, whose models were exposed in famous European museums. Their illustrated catalogues included many diverse objects such as busts, ornemental sculpture (clocks, candelabras, cups) sometimes even life-sized and also bronzes for furniture. Apart from his own production, Barbedienne worked for the most renowned sculptors such as Barrias, Clésinger and Carrier-Belleuse. All his works were highly esteemed and he, himself honoured by contemporary critics. At the London exhibition in 1851 Barbedienne's firm won two « Council medals ». At the 1855 Universal Exhibition, he won a medal of honour. The success of Barbedienne's firm brought him many official commissions. At the London Universal Exhibition of 1862 Barbedienne won medals in three different categories : Furniture, Silversmith work and Artistic bronzes. Barbedienne was made an officer of the Légion d'Honneur in 1867 and Commander in 1878 when he was compared with « a prince of industry and the king of bronze casting ». His glory did not decline with the passage of the time for at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 the critics thanked Barbedienne for the example he set for other bronze-casters by the perfection of his bronzes. Paul Dubois (1829-1905) studied law before entering the workshop of Toussaint, then the School of Fine Arts. After travelling in Italy, he participated to the Salon of 1863 and won the third medal for the sculpture category. He won several other medals : the Medal of Honour with his Florentine Singer...
Category

1880s French Louis XVI Antique F. Barbedienne Foundry

Materials

Marble, Bronze

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F. Barbedienne Foundry Sale Prices

Sold DateSold PriceCategoryMaterialCreation Year
2025$500Decorative Dishes and Vide-PocheBronzecirca 1890
2025$6,300Figurative SculpturesBronze1880
2024$35,000Busts, Historical MemorabiliaBronzecirca 1870
2024$2,500Figurative SculpturesBronzec1880
2024$1,081Animal SculpturesBronzecirca 1880
2024$4,000Animal SculpturesBronze1900
$8,521
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months
$500-$35,000
Sold price range of items in the past 12 months

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F. Barbedienne Foundry furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

F. Barbedienne Foundry furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of F. Barbedienne Foundry furniture, although gold editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by F. Barbedienne Foundry were created in the Louis XVI style in europe during the 19th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Antoine-Louis Barye, Emmanuel Fremiet, and Charles Valton. Prices for F. Barbedienne Foundry furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $695 and can go as high as $417,582, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $7,900.

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