"Bacchante and Bacchant", Exceptional Pair of Terracotta Statues, circa 1880

This statue, titled Young Girl with a Conch, was cast by the Ducel Foundry after a work by Pierre Loison in the mid-19th century. The sculptor Pierre Loison (or Loyson) (1816-1886) began his career as an apprentice to a clog maker. Noticed for his talent, he was able to study sculpture in the studio of David d’Angers and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He received numerous official commissions and exhibited in nearly every Salon from 1845 until 1886, the year of his death, as well as at the 1855 Universal Exhibition. The Ducel Foundry was founded in 1800 in Touraine. It was successively managed by three generations of the Ducel family: Jacques, Jean-Jacques, and Jacques-Gustave. The company had a store in Paris and gained recognition by participating in various international exhibitions held in the second half of the 19th century. It was purchased by the Val d’Osne Foundry in 1878. This sculpture depicts a young girl seated on a rock by the water’s edge. She may represent a naiad, a deity associated with rivers and springs. Her posture conveys movement, as if she is about to enter the water: her face and torso lean forward, she holds onto the rock with her left hand, and in her right hand, she grasps a conch shell, which could emit a jet of water. A drapery covers her waist, and both legs extend toward the water. The statue bears an inscription on the base indicating its origin: “JJ DUCEL...

This very beautiful pair of ovoid and covered vases was made of Sèvres porcelaine and mounted in gilt bronze. The two vases depicts a painted decor b...

Mantel garniture with clock and pair of candelabras in brown patinated bronze on Statuary marble and gilt bronze pedestals. Equestrian statue signed and dated : « E de Nieuwerkerke 1843 » on the base and bronze caster's mark « Susse Edt » Dimensions of the clock : H. 84 cm (33”1/16) x W. 46,5 cm (18”5/16) x D. 24,5 cm (9”11/16) Dimensions of the candelabras : H. 90,5 cm (35”5/8) x W. 25 cm (9”7/8) x D. 25 cm (9”7/8) At the “Salon des Artistes Français” in 1843, the young Count Alfred Emile de Nieuwerkerke (1811-1892), then aged 32, presented a plaster equestrian statue entitled William I, known as the Taciturn, Prince of Orange. A great nineteenth-century sculptor, Émile de Nieuwerkerke is best known for having been Head Director of the Museums since 1849, and probably the most influential man on cultural policy in France until the end of the Second Empire. Nieuwerkerke's fervor for art began when he became passionate for sculpture, at the age of 23, and took classes with the great James Pradier and Baron Carlo Marochetti. His connections allow him to realize official commissions, including the busts of the Empress Eugenie and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. The Count de Nieuwerkerke made a name for himself at the 1838 Salon with the exhibition of the group The Death of the Duke of Clarence that really launched his career. Having been a pupil of Carlo Marochetti, a sculptor of Italian origin, the young Nieuwerkerke can only be strongly impressed by the equestrian statue of the Monument to Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy created by the master between 1833 and 1838 and adorning the Piazza San Carlo of Turin in Italy. There is no doubt that this monumental statue...

Exceptional Napoleon III period mantel in veined Carrara marble, adorned with a rich décor of palmettes and arabesques. This fireplace is sold with a modern cast iron insert adapted...

An impressive pair of early 20th century terracotta brown bear statues, each holding a detachable terracotta bowl which could be used as a planter. An amus...

An antique buff terracotta statue depicting a Renaissance figure possibly by Blanchard. We are also selling a group of 3 similar figures as well as ...

French Terracotta roaring lion mounted on rocky rectangular plinth. Plaque reads Lion Guettant Sa Proie, Par Foucher. Late 19th Century

A set of 3 antique buff terracotta statues depicting notable historical English figures possibly by Blanchard. Included in the collection are statues o...