French Antique Bronze Sculpture of “Tiger and Tortoise” After Georges Gardet

Description

GEORGES GARDET
French, 1863-1939

"La Tigre et la Tortu" [The Tiger and the Tortoise] (1886)

Sand-cast bronze with verde, red, … more GEORGES GARDET
French, 1863-1939

"La Tigre et la Tortu" [The Tiger and the Tortoise] (1886)

Sand-cast bronze with verde, red, brown and black patination | signed to the base "GEORGES GARDET", cold-stamped beside signature "884L", cold-stamped to edge of base "FRANCE" | almost without a doubt cast by Siot Decauville circa 1900

Item # 404HYE06P

A wonderful cast after Gardet's "The Tiger and the Tortoise", the present example is almost certainly cast by Siot Decauville in Paris, first because almost all of these casts were executed by that foundry, but also because the serial numbers cold-stamped into the base are what we would expect to see from that firm. It is beautifully finished in a nuanced patina with an overall verde green with underlying hues of coppery-red, autumnal browns and near black together with natural wear from handling. It is signed to the base in a crisp signature "GEORGES GARDET".

The original was conceived in 1886 and was shown at the Paris Salon the same year executed in plaster. A monumental group is permanently installed in front of the Centre de culture scientifique, technique et industrielle in Laval, France, together with Gardet's "Bison Attacked by a Panther" flanking the entrance. Reductions of the model were subsequently produced by Siot Decauville in Paris and examples are held museum collections, including the Château de Blois Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.

Open-market results on other identical models:

Sotheby's, New York, 29 November 2007, lot 13, [signed, marked 112W FRANCE, 18" overall length], achieved $ 10,000 USD
Sotheby's, New York, 30 November 2006, lot 36 [signed, marked "Siot Decauville Paris G354"], achieved $ 6,000 USD

Artist Listings & Bibliography:

Les Animaliers, Jane Horswell, 1971, p. 264, present example illustrated


Measurements: 8" H x 18" W x 6" D

Condition Report:
Wear and loss to the patina in a few notable areas: the bent elbow of the tiger, the edges of the base throughout but more extensively around the tortoise, rubbing wear along the tail, spots of rubbing wear to raised elements throughout; patina has been carefully cleaned and is sealed in conservator's grade wax. A very fine presentation. less