A PAIR OF FRENCH PATINATED-BRONZE GROUPS OF LIONS ENTITLED 'LIONS DU PONT ALEXANDRE III'

The present pair of lions are almost certainly cast from the terracotta preparatory sketches for full-scale sculptures Jules Dalou created for the base of the celebrated Pont Alexandre III in Paris, which are today in the Petit Palais, Paris (PPS00201-2, see A. Simier, Jules Dalou, le sculpteur de la République, Exhibition catalogue, 18 April – 13 July 2013, Paris, pp. 176-179). These terracotta groups, dated 1898, are nearly identical in size to the present works, and were sold from the collection of the sculptor’s daughter, Georgette Dalou, in 1905. Editions in bronze of similar size were first created by the Hébrard foundry in 1922. The Hébrard foundry were among the first to create bronze editions after the artist’s lifetime, and often numbered their editions from 1 to 10, which likely explains the numbers '1’ and '2’ on the present works.