A PAIR OF FRENCH BRONZE JAPONISME FIGURES OF A MAN AND WOMAN

A PAIR OF FRENCH BRONZE JAPONISME FIGURES OF A MAN AND WOMAN

POSSIBLY CAST BY BARBEDIENNE, C.1870-80

in traditional Japanese costume, he modelled standing holding a fan and carrying a pair of swords in his belt, she carrying a parasol, each on integral bases with a rectangular platform above pierced aprons and raised on elephant head feet, impressed '32673' and other numerals to the underside (2)

62cm high

Catalogue Note

The artist responsible for these figures is not known although they have been attributed to several high profile artists working in the period including Charles Cordier, Emile Guillemin and Emile Louis Picault. For similar pairs of figures, see Christie’s, New York, 5 March 2014, lot 252 for a pair in ormolu, and Sotheby’s, Paris, 5 November 2014, lot 317A where they were described as being ‘A Chinese Couple, in the manner of Francois Boucher’, perhaps inspired by pictures by the artist that were in wide circulation in the late 18^th and 19^th century.