1900s Neoclassical French Cherub Lamp With Foundry Stamp 'Fabrication Francaise Paris'

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Description

Wonderful Neo Classical antique french table lamb featuring a cast silvered spelter sculpture of a Putti or Cherub.
The little … Read more Wonderful Neo Classical antique french table lamb featuring a cast silvered spelter sculpture of a Putti or Cherub.
The little guy is sitting on a baroque rococo style bench holding a cloth and object in his hand while resting one foot on books suggesting to me that he started life as a bookend
The sculpture is mounted on a plinth of black marble sized 8" x 5"
The sculptured figure itself is 10" tall
Beautiful details in the casting and the weathering on the piece really just adds a certain "je ne sais quoi" to the lamp.
The metal shade add to the dimensions of the lamp for overall footprint of 20" x 12" x12"

The sculpture has a foundry stamp "Fabrication Francaise Paris, made in Paris France"
This places the age of the casting from 1892-1915


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Fabrication Francaise Paris, made in Paris France. This was a foundry in Paris which poured French bronzes and iron work in the late 19th Century, early 20th Century. The circular foundry mark bares this name at the top, an image of a crucible set on flames in the centre, with the “Made in France” ringing the bottom f the circle, The “Made in France” in English on the foundry mark is due to the U.S trade law of 1891 that required all imports to be marked to indicate the country of origin.

The earliest known mention of the company name “Fabrication Francaise, Paris” is 1892. The exact date when this company ceased to exist is not known, as many European governments absorbed the private metal work manufacturers for war production in the years leading up to World War 1.

Fabrication Francaise, Paris was a production company that manufactured sculptures after the artist produced bronze sculptures. These reproductions were rarely cast in bronze, but cast in spelter metal (white metal/pot metal), sometimes with fabricated pieces in bronze and brass, and were painted to replicate the acid patinas of a bronze casting. The castings in spelter were most likely produced for the home décor and export markets between 1892 and 1915.
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