catalog text
GEORGES GARDET
French, 1863-1939
Le Drame au Désert
Patinated bronze | Signed in cast "Georges Gardet", sealed with Siot-Decauville foundry cachet, cold-stamped 4005 | conceived 1887, cast circa 1910
Item # 306TAW08P
A very compelling lifetime cast of Georges Gardet's "Desert Drama", it was conceived in 1887 and presented at the Paris Salon of the same year. That monumental original bronze model is located in the Parc Montsouris in Paris. This intense scene depicts a lioness returning to her den only moments after a python has killed both of her young cubs. Reductions of this model were then cast by Siot-Decauville in several sizes. The present example retains a delightful nuanced patina with reddish undertones coming through the overall medium-brown translucent patina - it is silky and positively gorgeous. The crisp chiseling and finishing work is notable, though typical of the fine production associated with works coming through the hands of Siot.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- "Les bronzes du XIXe siècle, dictionnaire des sculptures", Pierre Kjellberg, 1987, p. 342
- For a similar example, see Sotheby's, Paris, 18 March 2015, sale PF1541, "Les Dillée : Une Dynastie D’experts Et De Collectionneurs", lot 473
Measurements: 12 1/4" W x 5 3/4" D x 6 1/2" H
Condition Report:
Rubbing to the patina below the front right foot along the vertical edge of the base, some minor relieving to the patina from handling in a few areas (tip of nose, tip of ears, very faintly along head)