catalog text
ETIENNE-HENRI DUMAIGE
French, 1830-1888
A Woman Seated on a Classical Pedestal
Lacquered and patinated sand-cast bronze on rouge marble | Signed to the right side "H. DUMAIGE", numbered verso 19990 | cast circa 1875-85
Item # 204PKP29S
A powerful cast after Etienne-Henri Dumaige's model of a seated woman on an architectural column surmounted by lion masks from the Napoleon III era, it is situated over a rouge marble base finished on a gilt bronze rim. The same model was used to surmount a clock offered at Christie's, London [14 March 2012, sale no. 8048, lot 45 where it was flanked by a pair of figural candelabra]. It captures a fine image of a young woman clutching a diaphonous robe around her body while something presumably approaches her from her left. The casting quality is above reproach with inordinate attention to detail in developing the toe nails, crisp chiseled hairs tied up in a loose arrangement of curls and the exquisite architectural column. She is finished in a nuanced combination of chemical patina on raw bronze augmented with pigmented lacquers, this outer surface having worn away in numerous areas to reveal the lower levels of the patina beneath. It is signed along the edge of the architectural column "H. DUMAIGE" and is numbered along the back.
Measurements: [total with marble base] 28 1/2" H x 10 1/4" D x 14 5/8" W; [bronze only] 25 3/4" H x 9" D x 12 1/4" W
Condition Report: Trace wear and discoloration to the surface patina; some wear to the lacquer revealing the bronze beneath, particularly along the base of the sculpture beneath her feet; foundry pins and seams are visible through the translucent patina; scuffs to the surface of the marble, numerous chips to the corners and edges of the marble; cleaned and sealed in conservator-grade wax, a very fine presentation.