Bronze Sphinxes, France, 19th Century

Small dark patinated figure of Venus on round profiled plinth.

Small bronze bust of young Octavian, later Emperor Augustus and first Roman Emperor.

Small reclining putto of gilt bronze in an expansive gesture. The small bronze is mounted on a dark marble base. The gilding is rubbed in places.

Gilt bronze of the Aetolian hero Meleager/Meleagros standing on a square marble plinth with a black round stone base. The cloak, strongly moved by the wind, wraps around his arm, in ...

Grand Tour Marriage in alabaster with bust of Mercury (inscribed Mercurio) mounted on a twisted column with foliate capital and square base.

Bas-relief in grey marble with the profile portraits of Josephine and Napoleon. Glued break.

19th century pair of bronze Egyptian Revival sphinx figures in reclining poses seated on solid wooden rectangular plinth bases. A well-detailed...

Pair of exceptional, hand-cast, French, parcel-gilt bronze sphinxes on newer, beveled marble bases.

French or Italian, circa late 19th century. An antique Grand Tour era bronze sculpture of an Egyptian sphinx in the Egyptian revival taste. Mounted to the original sienna marble bas...

Gaston Leroux (French, 1854-1942). A very fine French 19th century polychromed and patinated bronze sculpture of "Aida" resting on a sphinx, her legs crossed and holding a gilt-bronze tambourine, after the model by Gaston Veuvenot Leroux "Aida, A Femme Au Tambourin Assise Sur Une Tete De Sphinx". Signed: Gaston Leroux, Paris, circa 1890. Measures: Height 29 inches (74 cm). Width 15 inches (38.1 cm). Depth 15 inches (38.1 cm). The opulent and extensively detailed version of Aida was inspired by ethnographic findings of the mid-19th century in ancient Egypt as well as the influences of theatre and costume design. Travelers to the East had often recorded their journeys, either in writing or in pictures, but the movement of Egyptomania was wider-reaching than Egyptology. The immensely popular vogue of Egyptomania is without doubt due to the success of performing arts in recreating this era, in particular, Giuseppe Verdi's Aida. Both the Cairo and Paris premieres created sensations so large that they influenced generations of artists from Alexander Cabanel to Cecil de Mille. In Aida, the ruins of Egypt were brought back to life in full color and scale before the eyes of a generation that would make history as romantics, adventurers and explorers. The Cairo premier of Aida was entirely conceived by one of the foremost Egyptologists of the day, Auguste Mariette, who was assigned to the project by Khedive Ismail Pasha...

A pair of French Empire bronze models of recumbent Sphinxes on Verdi Antico marble bases. The bronze with the warm golden patina of age. The custom marble bases, stepped on one side ...

Made in France circa 1840s this finely cast pair of sphinxes are represented in the recumbent position most associated with the form. Showing on both figures are two hieroglyphic car...