Finely Chiselled Silvered Bronze Duck in Feeding Pose, French Work, circa 1970

This exquisite silvered bronze duck is the second piece in a set of three, and it presents perhaps the most dramatically animated pose of the group: the bird is caught in the act of feeding, its body lunging forward and downward, head thrust almost to the ground and tail lifted high behind. It is a posture observed countless times at the water’s edge, yet rendered here with a sculptor’s eye for the essential geometry of the movement — the long diagonal of the body, the counterbalance of the tail, the concentrated downward thrust of the neck. The result is a piece charged with naturalistic energy.

The silvered finish and the meticulous chiselled feather texture are consistent with its companion piece: every quill and contour feather is individually worked, and the silver catches the light with the same cool brilliance. The feeding pose, however, creates a very different play of surface and shadow — the curved underside of the body and the compressed neck offering new planes for the light to explore. Together with its companions, this duck forms part of a coherent decorative group; displayed alone, it stands perfectly as an independent sculptural object.

French decorative animalier bronzes of the post-war period — particularly in silvered or gilded finishes — have attracted increasing collector interest in recent decades, recognised as worthy successors to the great 19th-century animalier tradition of Barye, Mène, and their contemporaries. The quality of casting and chiselling here is well above the average production piece, suggesting a serious workshop with high standards.

An animated and beautifully crafted animalier bronze. Dimensions: W. 21 × D. 9 × H. 10.5 cm.