Ours assis (Reclining bear)

A favourite among collectors of Barye bronzes, Ours assis is an early work, dating from 1833. Initial lost wax épreuves d'artiste, cast either by Honoré Gonon and his two sons, or by Richard and Quesnel, show the reclining bear on a naturalistic base. In around 1845, a stepped base was added, as seen in the present example which, it should be noted, is also a lost wax cast. Poletti and Richarme estimate the number of lifetime casts to be about sixty. At the 1876 Atelier sale, the bronze modèle and its plaster were acquired by Jacquemart and the model was subsequently edited by Barbedienne until the mid-1920s.

A sand-cast example of this model, formerly in the collection of Eduardo Guinle (d. 1941), was sold in these rooms, 25 April 2003, lot 36 ($19,120).