Great Pair of 19th Century Cast Iron Torchères, Fonderies D'art Du Val D'Osne

An Interesting Pair of Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Chenets Each depicting Bacchus, wrapped in grape vines, flanked by a cherub and standing on a bronze base. Details: Height – 19...

A Fine Pair of Late 19th Century Gilt and Patina Bronze Chenets Each of a lion seated and roaring on a gilt base with a flower reef design. Details: Height – 15 inches / 38cm Width...

A superb quality and palatial pair of French 19th century lifesize cast-iron sculptures - torcheres of Native American Indians titled "L’ Indienne" designed by Jules Salmson (French, 1823-1902) and Cast by Le Fonderies d'Art du Val d'Osne, each standing figure representing a Native American Indian male and a female scantily dressed in their native robes, one arm raised holding a light-torch with an opaline glass globe, both wearing earrings, seashell necklaces and arm-braces, raised on cylindrical cast-iron stand. Signed/cast on each pedestal: “VAL D’OSNE”. (Electrified). Paris, circa 1870-1880. Overall hHeight: 127 inches (322.6 cm) Pedestal height: 39 inches (99.1 cm) Indian man's width: 22 inches (55.9 cm) Indian man's depth: 26 3/4 inches (68 cm) Indian woman's width: 28 inches (71.1 cm) Indian woman's depth: 25 inches (63.5 cm) These fantastic and impressive pair of cast-iron sculptures, most likely representing Hiawatha and Minnehaha, were probably comissioned to Le Fonderies d'Art du Val d'Osne for export to the America's to decorate governmental buildings and parks which makes these pair a rare find and now available for a private collection. Iron sculptures were preferred over bronze for outdoor park and building decorations for their long lasting resistance to all types of weather conditions. An identical pair of sculptures, also by Val d' Osne, are currently exhibited at the National Garden of Congress in Santiago, Chile. View Pages No. 87, 88, 89. Another identical pair are also currently exhibited at The Musée de la Ville - Indian Museum "O Indio do Museo da Cidade" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Another identical pair decorate the front of the Ópera Teatro Amazonas, Manaús, Brazil. A single figure of the female Indian...

A very fine and palatial French 19th-20th century allegorical figural cast-iron group torchere - sculpture - fountain - representing spring and the harvest, probably cast by Le Fonderies d'Art du Val d'Osne. The charming four-putti sculpture with a front standing putto holding a pole amongst wheat stalks, another putto kneeling and collecting wheat, a third one wearing a hat and picking flowers for a wreath and the fourth kneeling putto holding a bird's nest, all below an elongated classical stem with a glass globe (Electrified), circa: Paris, 1900. Overall height: 84 inches (213.4 cm). Width: 29 1/2 inches (74.9 cm). Circular base diameter: 24 inches (61 inches). Cast-iron had been in production during the 18th century but its inferior status to the more fashionable and delicate wrought-iron had generally confined its use to architectural work. By the early 19th century, however, rapid developments of the Industrial Revolution combined with the simultaneous burgeoning of a new middle class provided the impetus for a dramatic expansion in its application and in a short space of time a proliferation of iron foundries across Europe and America thrived on the production of everything from inkstands to railway stations. The use of cast-iron for garden ornament became particularly widespread at this time, as the possibilities for its mass-production at a fraction of the cost of bronze made it the material of choice for outdoor statuary...