Jean-Baptiste, called Auguste Clésinger 1814-1883 Zingara

brown patinated and gilt bronze signed J. CLESINGER / ROME / 1857 and inscribed F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR., and with the RÉDUCTION MÉCANIQUE A. COLLAS BREVETÉ pastille.
 

Clésinger executed the original marble Zingara in Rome in 1857, where he was a frequent visitor to Thorvaldsen's studio. Barbedienne edited Zingara in four sizes of which the present model is the third largest. The 1886 Barbedienne catalogue identifies the model as Zingara (Danseuse Napolitaine) au tambour de basque. Clésinger also made a pendant figure of a dancer with cymbals, the two were sold as a pair by the Maison Marnyhac in Paris.