Late 19th Century French Bronze of a Harlequin by René de Saint-Marceaux

A stunning English, early 19th century, carved wood fragment in oak, detailing a lions mask with a garniture of oak leaves and acorns and the outer frame work with scrolling acanthus...

Small antique gilded French bronze bust by Rene de Saint-Marceaux Named and marked E. Polo and dated 1897 This small gilded bronze is a bust of a child signed D. St. Rene for Ren...

A Bronze Statuette of Arlequin by Charles-René de Paul de Saint-Marceaux. Cast by Barbedienne. The mischievous Harlequin, arms crossed in contemplation, wearing a grin and a mask, treading the boards of the stage, as befits his leading place in the Commedia dell'arte. Signed by the fondeur, Ferdinand Barbedienne, having the foundry cachet, and dated 1879, and the sculptor's name, St. Marceaux. French, Circa 1880. Paul de Saint-Marceaux (1845-1915) Son of a Reims wine merchant, entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris under the tutelage of Jouffroy, exhibiting at the Salon of 1868, studying later in Italy. Considerable success followed, and he was awarded gold medals at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889, having been elected as a Chevalier to the Legion d'Honneur in 1880, and later becoming an officer. His public Parisian works may be seen in the Champs-Elysees (Alphonse Daudet the noted novelist) and Alexander Dumas...

A bronze Statuette of Arlequin by Charles-René de Paul de Saint-Marceaux Cast by Barbedienne. The mischievous Harlequin, arms crossed in contemplation, wearing a grin and a mask, tr...

Signature of René Saint-Marceaux and dated 1879 Signed F. Barbedienne Fondeur Paris A. Collas Mechanical Reduction Stamps Reduced Size: 3/5 Elegant statue of a standing Harlequin, ...

A French silvered-bronze athénienne by Ferdinand Barbedienne, Paris, last quarter 19th century with a revolving liner, the frieze applied with bucrania suspending ribbon-tied berried laurel swags above a border of bellflowers on a stippled ground above three seated female sphinxes issuing stylised foliage and scrolls on lion monopodia cast with the mask of Hercules, scrolling foliage and anthemions joined by stretchers, raised on a concave-sided triform marble base on a further thin silvered-bronze base, inscribed to the tripod base 'F. BARBEDIENNE' Measures: 103.3cm. high, 41.5cm. diameter; 3ft. 4 3/8 in, 1ft. 4 1/4. This impressive athénienne is a key reminder of the longevity of a particular model and design’s success from Antiquity through to the 19th century and up until this day. Typically known as the ‘Trépied du Temple d’Isis’, this athénienne is designed after the Roman antique originally found at Pompeii and now at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples (fig.1). From being for example an inspiration for the baptismal font of Napoléon’s son in 1811, this model was the inspiration to many highly skilled makers throughout the 19thcentury such as the Manfredini brothers from Milan and of course the Parisian well-established bronze founder Ferdinand Barbedienne who executed the present example. The Temple of Isis was a Roman temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis and was among one of the first discoveries during the excavation of Pompeii in 1764. Certainly considered as one of the most elegant examples of antique tripods, the existence of this model was then popularized to the rest of Europe via prints, one of the first being by Giovanni Battista Piranesi in 1779. This type of tripod was also popularised by an engraving in C. Percier and P. Fontaine’s, Receuil de Décorations Intérieures of 1801. Interestingly, there is also a watercolour now in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris, showing this type of tripod displayed at the 1801 Exposition des Produits de L’Industrie in the Louvre. The passion for Greek and Roman Art in the 19th century. The discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum around the middle of the 18th century gave rise to a new passion for Antiquity and the excavated masterpieces renewed the repertoire of fine and decorative arts and served as models for Neoclassicism. Members of the aristocracy as well as connoisseurs, particularly in England, completed their education by undertaking a ‘Grand Tour’ of Italy and often fell victim to the recently unearthed Greek and Roman artefacts...

A beautiful French 19th century Louis XVI st. patinated bronze and ormolu statue of the 'Allégorie de l'Histoire' by Georges Bareau and F. Barbedienne. This "Symbol of History" statu...