A PAIR OF NAPOLEON III POLYCHROME-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT CAST-IRON BLACKAMOORS

ATTRIBUTED TO VAL D'OSNÉ

Details
A PAIR OF NAPOLEON III POLYCHROME-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT CAST-IRON BLACKAMOORS
Attributed to Val d'Osné
Each bare chested with one arm aloft holding a torch, one with a snake curling down his arm and a hand at his hip, with tasseled shorts, the other with a beard, a ball in his hand and a cone with striped shorts and a ribbon and two balls at his feet, both on a stepped circular base
80in. (203cm.) high (2)

Lot Essay

The Val d'Osné Foundry, established in 1835 by André, was subsequently renamed Houille et Cie. in 1867 when taken over by Barbezat. By 1870, however, it was known as the Société Anonyme des Hautes Fourneaux & Fonderies du Val d'Osne, exhibiting its wares in a Paris showroom at 58 Boulevard Voltaire.
These two figures are based on engravings of Statues by Mathurin Moreau, although the apple on the arm of the Jongleur is lacking and the Charmeur is without his flute. As their catalogues reveal, Moreau's oeuvre was extensively reproduced during the second half of the 19th Century by the Val d'Osné foundry.

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