London Animal Sculptures

A beautiful French Grand Tour ormolu griffin sculpture, early 19th Century in date. The finely cast winged beast features the head of an eagle and the body of a lion with large ange...

Polished bronze handcast Neska Miniature Dachshund dog sculpture by Javier de la Rosa. Javier De la Rosa has created a series of bronze cast miniature sculptures that celebrate anim...

Polished bronze hand cast miniature fox sculpture by artist Javier de la Rosa. Javier De la Rosa has created a series of bronze cast miniature sculptures that celebrate animals and ...

Polished bronze hand cast miniature penguin sculpture by artist Javier de la Rosa. Javier De la Rosa has created a series of bronze cast miniature sculptures that celebrate animals ...

Lovely Bronze Sculpture of a Polo Player This Bronze Captures the Movement Perfectly Bronze Sat on Marble Base

Ceramic Indian motif white elephant by Bruno Gambone (circa 1970s). This is an absolutely charming ceramic white elephant with an Indian-style blanket and headdress, large whimsical ...

Each of these exquisite solid brass snails is handmade individually with incredible detail. Cast using very traditional techniques, they are finished with a nickel plating giving the...

Antique figural Italian cast bronze cat (circa 1920s). This Italian marvel, born in the heart of the 1920s, is not just a statue; it's a portal to a by...

This is a handsome pair of bronze stags, bearing the replica signature of well known French sculptor Jules Moigniez, from the last quarter of the 20th century. The bronze stags wer...

Introducing further pieces to our upcoming Studio Bucchi collection. These are a limited edition, bespoke order pieces. All materials used in the creation of these exceptional pieces...

Vintage Italian travertine porcupine sculpture and card or letter holder by Mannelli Bros (circa 1970s). Designed by Italian brothers, Fratelli Mannelli, this charming piece has load...

A Lovely Pair of Medici Bronze Lions Lovely Patina and Definition C20th

This is a wonderful antique French Empire Revival ormolu mounted and patinated Verde Antico marble inkstand, Circa 1870 in date. Of rectangular form with a pair of raised inkwells h...

Very Large Bronze of a Cowboy and his bucking Horse after Frederick Remmington This Sculpture has such a Powerful Movement and Raw Energy Lovely Sculpture

A fabulous early 20th Century Austrian bronze study of an eagle about to take flight with its wings outspread on the edge of a naturalistic rocky outcrop with excellent colour and fi...

Dramatic early 20th Century French Art Deco clear glass car mascot modelled as a standing falcon with good hand finished detail, signed R Lalique and France 'Faucon' Bouchon de Rad...

A pair of beautifully modelled silver plate pheasant table ornaments, made in Europe in the 20th century. Both the hen and cock pheasant sculptures are realistically modelled with ...

A particularly nice example of a solid teak carved Hippopotamus sculpture C.1960. In excellent vintage condition commensurate of age.

"Cheval Debout" by Marc Lalique A very fine frosted glass study of a standing horse in a striking position with its neck rounded exhibiting fine detail, the surface lightly polished...

A striking blue-and-clear blown-glass fish featuring gold inclusions and the bullicante technique, signed by master glass artist Alberto Donà.

Enourmous Silver Plated Bronze Pegasus Winged Horse Statue on Wooden Base This Bronze is Truly a one off and a Real Statement Piace

A wonderful pair of silver plate articulated fish ornaments made in Spain, c. 1920. They are of satisfying size and are highly decorative as a pair. The tails of these fish are arti...

A lovely Antique German Silver Model of a Cockatoo Bird standing on a wooden stump. The Bird is modelled with a lovely attention to detail and has a removable head and hinged articul...

A fine pair of mid nineteenth century pottery sparrow hawk sculptures, with finely painted feathers, the opposing hawks perched on naturalistic bases.

Travertine aardvark table sculpture by Mannelli Bros., Florence, Italy (circa 1970s). Joyful travertine stylised aardvark will delight art lovers and collectors. Minimalist in style ...

This is an absolutely stunning pair of enormous life-size bronze stags, dating from the last quarter of the 20th century. They stand listening carefully with perked up ears and impo...

Hallmarked in Edinburgh in 1997 by Hamilton & Inches, and designed and modelled by Victor Hayton for the World Wildlife Fund, this incredible, Elizabeth II period, Limited Edition St...

Italian Alabaster Figure of the Medici Lion Late 19th century Italian carved alabaster 'Grand Tour' souvenir sculpture, after the antique, "The Medici Lion". Carved alabaster mode...

Hallmarked in London in 1973 by the renowned Garrard & Co., this impressive pair of solid sterling silver pheasants showcases superb craftsmanship and naturalistic detail. Each bird ...

Hallmarked in London in 1901 by Henry Lewis, this handsome, Victorian, Antique Sterling Silver Model of a Horse, has a cropped tail like a polo pony, and is very realistically modell...

An incredibly detailed glass aquarium with three striped fish with orange tails and fins. The multicoloured shells and coral sit at the bottom of the aquarium and shimmer from the s...

A delightful decorative owl. This finely hand carved Black Forest carved owl sculpture demonstrates incredible workmanship and attention to de...

"Cheval Arabe No.3" by Pierre Jules Mene An attractive late 19th Century Animalier bronze study of an arab stallion. The bronze exhibiting excellent hand chased surface detail and g...

An Unusual Swiss Carved Black Forest Near Life-Size Figure of a Strolling Bear, Circa 1910 For comparison see page 75 The Art of the Black Forest by Jay Arenski and Simon Daniels ...

This striking pair of life size 20th-century Art Deco revival bronze seated Greyhounds/Whippets would be a stunning and sophisticated addition to any interior whether a Manor House o...

This is a beautiful antique bronze sculpture of a lioness by the renowned French sculptor Louis Riche (1877 - 1947), circa 1910 in date. The sculpture depicts a recumbent lioness r...

A scarce, large and impressive porcelain sculpture of an owl almost certainly made by Ernst Bohne & Sohne in Rudolstadt in Volkstedt, Thuringia, Germany, c. 1880. The sculpture depi...

Smiling ceramic lion / cat sculpture by ceramicist Bruno Gambone (circa 1990s). This seated lion sculpture is truly a work of art. It is whimsical, yet beautiful in its use of the pa...

"Taureau Debout" by Rosa Bonheur. An excellent late 19th Century French animalier bronze study of a standing bull with fine hand chased surface that accentuates the muscle definition of the subject, signed Rosa B. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Measures: Width: 32 cm Height: 18 cm Depth: 11cm Condition: Excellent Original Condition Circa: 1870 Materials: Bronze Book reference: Animals in Bronze by Christopher Payne Page no. 174 DESCRIPTION Bonheur, Rosa (1822-1899) The most popular artist of nineteenth-century France, Rosa Bonheur was also one of the first renowned painters of animals and the first woman awarded the Grand Cross by the French Legion of Honor. A professional artist with a successful career, Bonheur lived in two consecutive committed relationships with women. Born on March 16, 1822 in Bordeaux, Marie Rosalie Bonheur was the oldest of the four children of Raimond Oscar Bonheur (1796-1849) and Sophie Marquis. Bonheur's father was an art teacher who came from a poor family, while her mother, a musician, had descended from a middle-class family and had been her husband's art student. Bonheur's father, who taught drawing and landscape painting, was an ardent member of the utopian Saint Simeon society. The group held idealistic beliefs about the reform of work, property, marriage, and the role of women in society. Most importantly, for the artist's future, the Saint Simeons questioned traditional gender norms and firmly believed in the equality of women. While teaching artistic techniques to his oldest daughter, Raimond Bonheur also encouraged her independence and taught her to consider art as a career. In 1828 Raimond Bonheur joined the Saint Simeons at their retreat outside Paris. Sophie and the children joined him in Paris the following year. Four years later, however, Raimond abandoned his family to live in isolation with his fellow Saint Simeons. Sophie Bonheur died in 1833 at the age of thirty-six. Rosa was only eleven years old when her mother died, but she was aware of the heavy price her mother paid for married life with a man who was more dedicated to his own ideals than to meeting his family's needs. Rosa also saw that her mother's marriage led to poverty and her death from exhaustion. After her mother's death, Bonheur was taken in by the Micas family who resided nearby. Mme Micas and Bonheur's mother had been friends. When Mme Bonheur died, the Micas family paid Raimond Bonheur's debts and cared for Rosa. Their daughther, Nathalie, who would later become an amateur inventor and unschooled veterinarian, and Rosa became enamored with each other. When Rosa Bonheur began her career as a professional artist, she had already been trained by her father who had allowed her to study in all male classes. Rosa also learned by sketching masterworks at the Louvre from the age of fourteen, and later, by studying with Léon Cogniet. From the very beginning, Bonheur's favorite subject was animals. She learned their anatomy completely by dissecting them in local slaughterhouses. She also visited the horse market two times a week. Study of animals by direct observation led to the formation of the realist style in which Bonheur worked. It was for such work that Bonheur obtained written permission from the French government to wear men's slacks. Her working attire also consisted of a loose smock and heavy boots that protected her feet from the dangerous environment in which she painted. The style of dress that the artist adopted for work and home may well have been influenced by her father's attire, which was based on St. Simeonian clothing experiments. Bonheur also cropped her hair, perhaps to facilitate her work. She did, however, always wear dresses for social occasions because she knew that appropriate dress would further her career. Bonheur earned a successful living as a painter of animals. She exhibited at the annual Paris Salon regularly from the age of nineteen in 1841 through 1853, when she was thirty-one. She won the salon's gold medal at the age of twenty-six in 1848 and was commissioned by the French government to paint Plowing on the Nivernais in 1849. In the same year Bonheur and her sister Juliette became directors of l'École gratuite de dessin pour les jeunes filles, a post their father had once held. Bonheur completed her most renowned work, The Horse Fair, in 1855. The successful representation of percherons (a breed native to Normandy) was purchased by Ernest Gambart, a London art dealer whose gallery specialized in work by French artists. He exhibited The Horse Fair in London where Bonheur visited with Nathalie. Queen Victoria requested a private viewing of the painting at Windsor Castle. It would later be purchased in 1887 by Cornelius Vanderbilt and donated to the new Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Bonheur's trip to England allowed her to meet Charles Eastlake, then President of the Royal Academy, John Ruskin, the English writer and critic, and Edwin Landseer, the British animalier. She also toured the English and Scottish countrysides and executed some paintings based on her observations of new breeds of animals found there. Gambart made engravings of Bonheur's work, including The Horse Fair, and sold them in England, Europe, and the United States. Bonheur became one of the most renowned painters of the time. Little girls, such as Anna Klumpke in the United States, even had dolls in her likeness, much as American girls played with Shirley Temple dolls...

Carrying import marks for Chester in 1903 by Berthold Muller, this charming, Antique Sterling Silver Model of a Pig, is wonderfully modelled, and features a removable head. The pig m...

A large Arts and Crafts patinated copper owl garden sculpture, made in England c. 1900. The owl is stylistically modelled with hypnotic eyes and a quizzical expression. The feather...

A very fine early 20th Century cold painted Austrian bronze study of a standing cockatoo with superb naturalistic colour and excellent hand chased surface detail, signed with the Ber...

“Wild Things” Animal Masks by James Perkins 20th Century Mixed media: fur, feathers, resin, textile; wearable sculpture Commissioned and crafted for Pa...

Vintage ceramic horse by Bruno Gambone, (circa 1970s). A charming, sizeable ceramic parade horse with groomed mane and tail in Gambone's signature chalk-white glaze. Light brown figu...

This charming antique Black Forest inkstand dates from circa 1880. Beautifully modelled, hand carved from linden wood, with mother and baby bear on a naturalistically carved rocky outcrop. The inkwells are in the form of a pair of tree trunks with fluted glass wells with carved lids and a useful pen tray in front. Condition: In excellent condition. As an antique item, it shows signs of use commensurate with age, these minor condition issues are mentioned for accuracy and, as seen in the accompanying photographs, the inkstand displays beautifully. Dimensions in cm: Height 15 cm x Width 23 cm x Depth 14 cm Dimensions in inches: Height 6 inches x Width 9 inches x Depth 5 inches History of Black Forest Carving The idea behind the success of Brienz wood carving was quite simple. After a disastrous famine in 1816 in the Brienz area people were forced to find new areas of revenues. Driven by the need to create jobs in the Bernese Oberland, an economically underdeveloped region, the Swiss government encouraged the existing resource of timber industry to liaise with the traditional wooden craftsmanship. It took some time to improve from home requirements to sophisticated designed arts but the process was supported by the rising amount of tourists visiting the region. Christian Fischer and other founders Christian Fischer (1790-1848) started self-taught from simple turneries (carved bowls and other articles of daily use) to unsophisticated regional animals and people. Due to his success and the interest of the tourists, other carvers started also following his idea of carving the pristine naturalism. The Swiss government supported these start-ups with additional training of apprentices at special trade school. Brienz School of Wood Carving In 1884 the "School of Wood Carving, Brienz" was founded. It became an important educational institution to strengthen and develop the artistic backgrounds and exhibit an area of creativity. During the years of war in the 20th century, the demand for wooden sculptures came to rest and led to the re-orientation in areas such as toys and carvings for constructions. Beyond that the Brienz wood carving articles had to face an enormous competition from abroad. The School of Wood Carving had to get through difficult economic times but in the late 1970s wood carving enjoyed a renaissance. A lot of young people searched for elemental jobs and added a new value to school education. Today Brienz School of Wood Carving is combined with the education of turner, basket makers and coopers. The school still claims high-quality standards and follows old principles with regard to future perspectives. Wild animals At all times wild animals fascinate people. The highland around Brienz has large variety of different wild animals. Bears are among the most popular models for carvers. On the one hand bears are easy to cut and on the other hand they have a strong symbolized image. The enthusiasm for bears in art...

This is an impressive pair of dogs in the timeless Art Deco style, sitting attentively and awaiting the command of their master and dating from the mid 20th Century. This high quali...

This set of bronze monkey sculptures depicts the classic motif of the "Three Wise Monkeys" — See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. Each monkey is made with intricate detail, feat...

"Glass Snake" by Lalique Glass A wonderful limited edition 21st Century French deep purple crystal glass study of a coiled snake with its head raised, wit...

Very fine mid-19th century French Animalier bronze study of a standing Setter with excellent hand chased surface detail and rich brown patination. Raised on a stepped naturalistic base, signed J Moigniez. Additional information: Height: 19 cm Width: 34 cm Condition: excellent original condition Circa: 1870 Materials: bronze Book reference: Les Animaliers by Jane Horswell Page no. 237 About Jules Moigniez (French, 1835 ~ 1894) Moigniez was a French animalier sculptor of the 19th century. He worked primarily in bronze and frequently exhibited his sculptures at the Paris salon. He was best known for his bronzes depicting birds, although his skill and versatility enabled him to produce quality horse sculptures (primarily racehorses), dog sculptures and hunting scenes. His bird sculptures were among the finest ever created in his time. Moigniez was born at Senlis, Oise, France in 1835, the son of a metal gilder. Moigniez’s father bought a foundry to cast his sculptures, which was of great benefit to Moigniez as he didn’t have the added foundry costs that most of his contemporaries had to pay. Moigniez studied sculpture under the tutelage of Paul Comoléra (a student of François Rude) in Paris. It is quite likely that Moigniez’s attraction to bird sculpture was a direct result of his education under Comoléra, who was himself a bird specialist. Over the course of his 40-year sculpting career Moigniez exhibited thirty works at the Salon between 1855–92. His first submission in a major art exhibition was his plaster, Pointer Stopping at a Pheasant, at the Exposition Universelle of 1855.[1][2] Moigniez was known for the fine detail and chiseling of his sculptures. His bronzes—usually cast using the lost wax method—were always immaculately chased and patinated, and were especially popular in England and Scotland.[2] More than half of his output during his lifetime was sold in the United Kingdom. By the end of the 19th century, his sculpture had become popular in the United States as well. In contrast with other animaliers of the period such are P.J. Mêne and Antoine-Louis Barye, Moigniez’s bird sculptures often incorporated highly detailed bases complete with bushes, extensive foliage and undergrowth. His castings were generally of excellent quality with a variety of patinas, the gilded and silvered patinas being the most desirable and sought after by collectors. His bronzes could be reproached for an excess of detail, a result of overly-finicky, over-worked chiseling. Moigniez received redemption, however, by portraying in his sculpture a certain “elegance of attitudes”. His Chien braque...

This 30cm tall ceramic tiger imported in the 1970s from Alcobaca, Portugal, a city famous for its ceramics. This little tiger has a fearful pose bigger than its height! Expertly mo...

Vintage Italian travertine zoomorphic sculpture and card or letter holder by Mannelli Bros (circa 1970s). Designed by Italian brothers, Fratelli Mannelli, this charming piece has loa...

Italian glazed ceramic pitcher in seagull form by Bruno Gambone (circa 1970s). A very rare Bruno Gambone piece never before encountered by this gallery...

An outstanding deep black crytal glass study of a horse gently drinking from a water's surface, raised on a polished black glass plinth, signed Lalique France and numbered from the l...

A surprising frosted glass figure of a scorpion with its tail raised, ready to strike its prey. The frosted glass surface with excellent hand finished detail, signed Lalique France Additional information Measures: Height: 7 cm Condition: Excellent Condition circa: 1950 Materials: Hand Finished Frosted Glass SKU: 6008 DESCRIPTION The Scorpion...

Polished bronze hand cast miniature Nécora velvet crab sculpture by artist Javier de la Rosa. Javier De la Rosa has created a series of bronze cast miniature sculptures that celebra...

Delightful mid 19th Century French Animaliers bronze study of a playful Greyhound and King Charles Spaniel, with rich brown rubbed to a golden colour and fine hand chased surface det...

A captivating amber glass sculpture of a standing tang horse with excellent contrasting clear and frosted coloured glass and fine detail, signed ...

Hallmarked in London in 1976 by Garrard & Co., this stunning Elizabeth II, Sterling Silver Model of a Stag, is realistically cast and chased, and stands on a marble base. The stag mo...

An endearing mid 19th Century French bronze animalier study of a standing Kevel with very fine brown patina gently rubbed to a golden hue and intricate hand chased surface detail. R...

A Extra Large Bronze Sculpture as a Greyhound This Sculpture is Quite Rare due to its size Allways makes me smile as he has such a comical face Dates C20th