F. Barbedienne Foundry Furniture

An exquisitely cast parcel gilded example of "Two Fates", the model is based on the marble scpture of Antiquity that originally formed a portion of the east pediment of the Parthenon...

A powerful patriotic tribute to Thiers and a celebration of the resistance of the city of Belfort during the Fraco-Prussian War of 1870, the spirit of Belfort and all of France is me...

Originally conceived in 1840, Lion Qui Marche was modeled by Barye as a development from his similar bas-relief plaque of Roaring Lion and nearly ident...

An exquisitely cast model of two mice engrossed in their discovery of a snail shell. The circa 1897 bisque cast model executed by Sèvres is held in the permanent collection of the Mu...

An early Barbedienne casting from the molds acquired at the sale of Barye's estate in 1876 for 500 francs (no. 590), the model depicts a wild Ocelot dragging a Heron across the soil....

This exquisite lifetime casting of Fremiet's Cocher Romain was executed by the foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne and was a presentation model dated along the base 1896 and engraved to...

A powerful display of Barye's left-facing edition of "Eagle", it is a reduction developed first from Barye's studies for the French government in 1834. They were initially planning t...

Bronze Model Of "David Avant Le Combat” After Marius Jean Antonin Mercié (FRENCH, 1845-1916) Inscribed "F. Barbedienne Fondeur Paris 130 / A MANIGOT" and signed "A Mercie" to base Item # 806XGP21Q This is an exceedingly attractive work by Antonin Mercié exhibiting commanding proportions and presence. Retaining a dark brown patina with superb variation in the coloring throughout, the sculpture captures a certain innocence and confidence of a warrior in the making. The subject is that of David preparing for his combat with Goliath, the rustic sling wrapped around wrist with his fingers grasping the smooth round stone that would eventually defeat his giant adversary. Cast in several editions, this is one of the largest versions; it is noted in Berman vol. I with 31 1/2" being the original edition by F. Barbedienne. Smaller editions were reduced by the A. Colas procedure, these usually sealed with the accompanying stamp. It was sculpted by Mercié in his early 1930s, at which point he was already a famous sculptor. Having exhibited his Gloria Victis in plaster at the Salon in 1874 and in bronze in 1875, both years with extraordinary success, David Avant Le Combat was introduced to the public in 1876 (no. 3477) as a sculpture in marble. In the original catalog of Barbedienne, this cast illustrated on page 48, it notes: "Grandeur de l'original ...... 500 When compared with Mercie’s David...

Bronze sculpture model of "A La Terre!" (1890) after Alfred Boucher Signed to naturalistic base "A. Boucher", inscribed "F. Barbedienne Fondeur" Item # 008AMH08W This powerful mode...

A very fine posthumous edition of Barye's Cheval Turc no. 2, it is one of the most powerful Romantic models and the pair to this model (same horse but with the other leg lifted) was ...

An exceedingly fine sand casting by the foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne, this piece retains it's silky original mottled brown, golden bronze and green patina (the images do not prop...

Bronze sculpture of “Last Days of Napoleon” after model by Vincenzo Vela (Italian/Swiss, 1820-91) Signed “V. Vela. F. 1867”, “F. Barbedienne Fondeur, Paris”; A. Collas seal verso; underside inscribed 85781; incised corner "791", circa early 20th century Item # 009DPP15A A work of unreal quality, the chiseling work is rather exemplary throughout the sculpture. The subject is described contemporarily in a moving write-up by William Macleod, curator of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in their 1882 catalogue where he examines the topic: "This sublime statue is justly considered among the greatest sculptural works of modern times. It was executed for Mr J. Taylor Johnston of New York at the sale of whose collection it was bought for this Gallery. It is a replica of the statue made in 1866 and bought by Napoleon III from the French International Exhibition in 1867 and is now at Versailles There is some difference in the heads of the two statues but none changing the character and sentiment of the work. Vela as a Swiss has followed his profession in Florence and Milan but now resides at Ligernetto Canton of Tisson. He is about 50 years old and a Republican. Napoleon is seated in a chair supported by a pillow a blanket covers his body and legs, but his dressing gown partly open shows his massive but wasted chest. His right hand rests languidly on an arm of the chair his left nervously clutched rests on a map of Europe of 1814 spread on his lap, that Europe whose boundary lines he had so often altered and obliterated. His head droops forward and there is an awful speculation in the glazed depths of the eyes that gaze earnestly from beneath the classic brow as though peering into futurity. An indomitable spirit lives in the compressed lips and the thin nostrils breathe the scorn of a conqueror though now yielding to the spell of the last conqueror, death. Neither David's Crossing the Alps nor De la Roche's Fontainebleau in their personations of the Successful General and the Fallen Emperor stir the heart so deeply as this pathetic image of the dying Imperial Captive” The present example is one of two slightly differed versions of this sculpture, both documented in Forrest’s work. It was cast by the foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne and is noted such with the base edge inscription of “F. Barbedienne Foundeur, Paris”; the standard A. Collas reduction cachet is sealed into the back corner of the base. Notable is the inordinate level of finishing work completed in his face, hair, fingernails, garment and the map - as one of the larger editions of this model offered by Barbedienne, it is a dramatic and powerful work. For the serious collector of the finest of historical models in bronze, this is an exceptional acquisition. Literature & Further Reading: 1. Sotheby’s, 28 June 2007, 16 1/2” H model by Barbedienne achieved 22,800 GBP 2. University of Chicago Smart Museum of Art, acc. no. 1976.74, 16 1/2” H model 3. Christie’s Sydney, 15-16 May 2004, The John Schaeffer...