Antoine-Louis Barye (Paris 1795-1875)

Sotheby's London, 10 December 2004, lot 123;

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

M. Poletti and A. Richarme, Barye: Catalogue Raisonné Des Sculptures, Paris 2000, p. 367, no. D1.

The present pair of tazze are fine casts from the 1845 to 1857 period. They epitomize Barye's inventive imagination and skillful sense of design, which he applied as much to decorative objects such as these, as to his great Romantic animalier subjects. The records of Emile Martin, Barye's business partner, show that from 1850 to 1857 only 54 examples of the present works, and a closely related model with a simpler dish, were produced. Although these objects were conceived ostensibly as everyday objects, their complexity of design meant that they were impractical to cast in large editions and are now rarely seen on the market.