information on large bronze please.

[jacqueline]

Hi everyone new to the forum. looking for info on a large bronze i bought in a charity shop. i thinK the statue is The Three Graces ?. its very heavy. the plinth is about 3 inches high. its hollow in the tree trunk part it seems to have a metal rod enbeded in some kind of crumberly white resin. on the bottom of the plinth at the back it reads Emile Andre Boisseau 1879. i did google the name looking for a picture of original but only managed to find a copy and that was in gold guilding not plain bronze like mine. i would like any info, and im curious about the metal rod and resin ? in side. whats that all about.

[mart]

OK  What you are looking at on the bottom is the material used to fill it in !! Probably a plaster of some type !! It would be weighted to balance out the bronze on top and make it more stable !!  Some would think that all bronzes are solid but they are not !! Wouldn`t have wasted the metal by filling in something that would not be seen !!  Now to find your artist !!

[Kimmienemo]

What does the inscription on the bottom read?

[bigwull]

What is the height and weight of the piece...can you weigh it on kitchen scales,or bathroom scales, the likelihood of this being a solid piece,will be rare, with it having a hollow tree trunk is an indication that this has been cast,using the lost wax method of casting...and whilst the colour looks like bronze...it could be spelter...or poor mans bronze as it is sometimes known...
the filling of the trunk and the metal rod...is an indication of some minor damage and the resin has been poured in and the rod added to give it strength...we will know more once we have the weight

[bigwull]

See link to one for sale,in the Netherlands...and comparewhere yours is signed with this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Bronze-statue-by-Emile-Andre-Boisseau-1842-1923-Defence-of-the-Home-/110942854524?pt=Art_Sculpture&hash=item19d4b59d7c

[mart]

you are thinking this is a reproduction ??  Don`t think so !! The artist may have made several and as you know they have different finishes !!  there are several others that he did  as multiples !! 

[Kimmienemo]

Found this. . .
http://www.lskauctioncentre.co.uk/sale-categories/twentieth-century-design/tcd140912/188.aspx

[bigwull]

Mart, if you look at the close up of their legs....men & womens legs...you know,...on the right, there is a grey area similar in colour to the underside of the base....now, i don,t know if this is a copy or the genuine article..i hope it the real deal, but, this mark...if this was genuine..would,nt be there.....

[mart]

I didn`t find anywhere these were ever cast in white metal !!  Only thing this artist worked in that I found was marble and bronze !!  Would like to know if the foundry mark is also on it !!  would be same place as the name on this I think just other side !!

[jacqueline]

Hi. i would first like to thank everybody who has commented on the bronze im realy chuffed. Thank you. i have weighed it. it 15.6 gk. height is. 15.5 inches. the base is 10 inches long. The base in the pictures looks round. but it isnt its more oblong. i do not see any foundry marks i only see the name on the base. i should have sent a picture of the back as you can see the tree trunk it only comes up to the middle laddies legs. this is the ony bit with the metal wire and some kind of crumbling plaser/resin? all the rest is solid. the pictures somebody posted is the one i have seen. but as you see this has gold guilding on has the artist name as well as the foundrey mark and this is a copy. mine does not have this mark only the name. But why cant i find a picture of the original bronze in a museum. i find this odd One again  Thank you for helping me.  ps. also i cant find any bronzes that have a thick 3 inch plinth like this one. they all seem to be marble bases. ? pssent a pic of the tree trunk. this is the only part that has metal rods and the crumbling  filling.

[bigwull]

You have said that this weighs in at 15.6kg..almost 33lb..at this weight this is,nt hollow..this is a solid lump of metal...and if its bronze...which there is now every indication that it is, i suggest you get it valued...because you never know...if  Renoir can turn up at a flea market in the US...then who,s to say that a genuine Emile Andre Boisseau, has,nt turned up in the UK....now hurry there, and then back to here...and put us out of our misery...good luck

[jacqueline]

Hi bigwull. if i was so lucky. lol. wouldent it have a foundrey mark on it ? if it was real.  i find it frustrating that i cant see an original of this bronze anywhere on the net. only the copy in gold guild. and who do i take it to so they can have a look.

[mart]

if you live close,, take it to a good art gallery !!  its worth a look !! his marble pieces sell pretty high the bronzes,, much lower but take a few dollars where you can !!  just don`t sell it at the gallery if they make you an offer !!  if they offer money you can be sure its worth quite a bit more !!

[bigwull]

if you live close,, take it to a good art gallery !!  its worth a look !! his marble pieces sell pretty high the bronzes,, much lower but take a few dollars where you can !!  just don`t sell it at the gallery if they make you an offer !!  if they offer money you can be sure its worth quite a bit more !!

$$$...aint any good over here apart from changing them at a bureau de change...

[mart]

Jacqueline, is that all it says around the base ??  Just the artists name ??  Need to know every word !!