Lot Essay
The extreme naturalism of the pose of the present dog places it among animal bronzes attributed to German sculptors such as Hubert Gerhard (d. 1620)) or Georg Schweigger (1613-1690; for examples of their work see Berlin, Skulpturensammlung Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Von Allen Seiten Schön – Bronzen der Renaissance und des Barock, 31 Oct. 1995 – 28 Jan. 1996, nos. 163-165 and 204). The precise rendering of the fur and chain also suggest a German origin of the 17th century.