catalog text
PATINATED BRONZE SCULPTURE OF "HIBOU" AFTER MODEL BY ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE (FRENCH, 1796-1875)
Signed "BARYE", inscribed verso "F. Barbedienne", cold stamped underside "727" & "26"; conceived 1870, cast circa 1880
Item # 003GLQ05P
Conceived in 1870, the model of a Hibou Owl was cast originally in Barye's Atelier as "No. 199" and offered for sale for 20 francs until his death in 1875, at which point the rights to reproduce the model were acquired by Barbedienne. It was offered in their 1877 catalogue for 30 francs through the end of the century, at which point Leblanc-Barbedienne continued to cast the model through the 1920s.
The present model is a relatively early cast circa 1880. A richly detailed model that retains almost all surface texture from the mold with minimal need for chiseled finishing, the bronze finished in a complex artisan patination with reddish brown hues under black and dark brown with hints of green.
Artist Listings & Further Reading:
- The Barye Bronzes: A Catalogue Raisonne, Stuart Pivar, 1974, p. 241, f. A180 [courtesy the Walters Art Gallery, over a turned plinth; noted as B199 in Barye's last catalogue with dimensions of 10 cm x 4 cm]
- Barye: Catalogue Raisonné des Sculptures, Poletti & Richarme, 2000, p. 342, f. A201
- Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, acc. no. 27.140
- Recorded dimensions [Poletti & Richarme] 9.2 cm H x 1.6 cm D x 5.2 cm W
- See Sotheby's, Olympia, 06 April 2004, lot 65, achieved 2880 GBP [currency 4/6/04 1.83 GBP/USD = $ 5270 USD]
Measurements: 6 3/4" W x 3 1/2" H x 1 3/8" D
Condition Report:
Upper edge of right wing with trace patina wear, outside of left wing with some rubbing wear, both wing ends with very finely executed patina touchups. A fine silky surface patina throughout.