French Antique Bronze Sculpture “Seated Woman” by Etienne-Henri Dumaige, c.1880

ETIENNE-HENRI DUMAIGE French, 1830-1888 Classical Seated Woman with Treasure Spilling at Her Feet Burnished and patinated bronze over original polished black marble base signed in cast "H. Dumaige Sculpt" and cold-stamped 3750 circa 1875 Item # 309OXB09P This exquisite cast depicts a full-length seated female modeled with echoes of classical antiquity. Dumaige seeks to depict the young woman as a noble likely of the Roman Empire, her wealth an obscene display with pearls falling from her fingers almost as an afterthought over a chest of jewels with treasure spilling from the lid before her overstuffed throne with a richly decorated pillow...

Initially modeled by Barye in 1846 as a commission by Louis-Phillipe for the Tuilleries Gardens at a cost of 10,000 francs, the life-size sculpture sat near to Barye's Lion au Serpent until it was later moved in 1867 to the grand entrance to Pavilion de Flore and a pair was crafted for it using a mechanical technique, a gesture which incensed Barye, as he preferred to sculpt a mate to oppose Lion Assis...