Asian Elephant a Mid-19th Century Bronze Sculpture by Alfred Barye, circa 1860

Alfred Barye was a French sculptor, of the Belle Époque, pupil of his father the artist Antoine-Louis Barye. He learned his craft of animalier sculpture under the watchful eye of his father who was one of the original pioneers of animal sculpture in the mid-to-late 19th century. The younger Barye didn't always get along with his father, there were times when the two of them were not on speaking terms because until instructed not to do so, Barye was signing some of his bronzes as "A. Barye" which the senior Barye objected to because it created confusion as to which Barye, father or son, created the sculpture.