19th Century Empire Style Gilded Bronze Sculpture of Bust of Dionysus or Bacchus from Susse Frères, Paris, France, Late 1800s

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Description

Description of the object:
Gilded bronze sculpture depicting the bust of Dionysus or Bacchus, signed "Susse Frères" on the back … Read more Description of the object:
Gilded bronze sculpture depicting the bust of Dionysus or Bacchus, signed "Susse Frères" on the back and stamped with the foundry mark. Made in France in the late 19th century. The work was based on the bust of Dionysus created by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), who in turn based it on the bust of Dionysus preserved in the Capitoline Museums in Rome and dated from 117 to 35 BC. It has been reproduced by many artists and foundries, including the Barbedienne foundry, Oudry, and Susse Frères. Dionysus was originally the Greek god of vegetation, linked to the lifeblood that flows in plants. He later became the god of ecstasy, wine, and liberation of the senses, renamed Bacchus by the Romans.

Useful information for evaluating the object:
The Susse Frères foundry is a foundry that has produced sculptures of the highest value, famous above all for the beautiful, rich golden patinas of its pieces. From our research on the web, we have found that the gilded bronze sculptures from the Susse Frères foundry fetch very high prices at auction, ranging from a minimum of €5,000 to over €30,000, plus auction fees of 25-30%. The bust identical to ours, made by the Barbedienne foundries, is on sale for €8,000 to €11,000 in the non-gilded version on major online art and antiques sales sites.

Information about the artist and/or manufacturer:
The French company Susse Frères produced a daguerreotype camera that was one of the first two cameras ever sold to the public. The company was also involved in the foundry business and owned a large foundry in Paris, one of the oldest and most important foundries in France. The company is famous for its fine bronze castings with superbly applied gold patinas. After the death of Pierre-Jules Mène in 1879, the Susse Frères foundry acquired the rights to reproduce his models and produced posthumous proofs marked "Susse Frères."

Weight of the object: 4.100 kg


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