French Bronze & Ivory Statues, ca. 1895

Appraised on: June 28, 2008

Appraised in: Dallas, Texas

Appraised by: Ernest DuMouchelle

Category: Metalwork & Sculpture

Episode Info: Dallas, Hour 1 (#1304)

Originally Aired: January 26, 2009

IMAGE: 1 of 6  

Appraisal Video: (2:30)

GUEST: After my wife and I were married, my mother asked us what we would like for a wedding gift, and I'd always admired this statue in the center. So I asked her, I said, "How about that statue?" And she said, "That's fine, beautiful. "The only thing is, they're a group. "Take them all. They need to stay together."

APPRAISER: So where did she acquire them?

GUEST: She purchased them in Paris, or in France, I'm sure. I don't know-- Paris, I would think. I think on different trips.

APPRAISER: Well, what I like is that not only are they bronze statues, they're all from France. And they all have ivory faces, and some of them have ivory hands. And they're all friendly-looking, cute subjects. I love this little child with the bellow camera.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: It's probably from about 1890, 1900 and setting on the little marble base. The girl with the flowing dress has the onyx base to it. It's not signed, but that doesn't upset me at all. It's a beautiful little bronze. This one here is like a little ashtray.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And, uh, this one I think is charming. It has a real nice ivory face to it, and it's bronze. The center one, this is what they call "doré bronze," or a gold bronze. And the trim-- the reason why it's dark is that's silver, and all this trim here is silver over the gold bronze.

GUEST: Oh, I see.

APPRAISER: And it's a wonderful sculpture. This is by the artist Albert Carrier-Belleuse. And it's signed right here in front. Carrier-Belleuse was an artist that lived from 1824 and died in the 1880s. He was very well-known in France. One of his admirers was Napoleon III. This is the most important bronze here. At auction, it's worth about $6,000 to $8,000.

GUEST: Yes, sir.

APPRAISER: These four, if you took them as a set, would bring about $2,000, $2,500.

GUEST: Really?