Lion assis No1 (Seated lion No1)

First offered in Barye's 1845 catalogue, Lion assis No1 was listed as the pendant to Lion au serpent No1 (see lot 18). In addition, like the Tuileries original, the model was cast as a corresponding pair. Unlike Lion au serpent, this model would appear to have had only limited success, as épreuves, cast both during Barye's lifetime, and after, when the model was acquired and edited in around 1876 by the Graux-Marly foundry, rarely appear on the market.

A matched pair of Lion assis No1, each with tail curled around the right side of the base, as here, and from the collection of Christian Ledoux-Lebard, were sold Sotheby's London, 21 November 1995, lot 36 (£34,500).