- 66
Antoine-Louis Barye French, 1796 - 1875
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 USD
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Description
- Antoine-Louis Barye
- Aigle ailes étendues, bec ouvert (terrasse naturaliste)
- signed A.L. BARYE, inscribed F. BARBEDIENNE Fondeur, black stencil number 549, incised number 125
- bronze, dark brown patina
- height 9 3/4 in.
- 25 cm
Provenance
Victor Franses Gallery, London, acquired 1990s
Literature
M. Poletti and A. Richarme, Barye. Catalogue raisonné des sculptures, Paris, 2000, no. A188, p. 332
Condition
in good condition. Patina with some rubbing to high points due to cleaning and wear, mainly to the eagle's head and the corners of the rock. Light surface scratches.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
On a rocky precipice, surveying foes and prey alike, perches the ferocious eagle. With an open beak as though emitting a battle cry and with its wings extended wide Barye's creation prepares to fight or take flight.
In 1834 Louis-Adolphe Theirs’s government commissioned Barye to create an enormous eagle to adorn the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It was to have a wingspan of over twenty-three meters (seventy-five feet) and would carry the trophies of war in its talons. However, the project was eventually canceled out of fear of offending those nations formerly opposed to Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1852 Barye unsuccessfully tried to revive the project under the reign of the new Emperor Napoleon III.