Set of a Duck and Two Ducklings in Silvered Metal and Brass, French circa 1970

A sculptural group of considerable dynamism and naturalistic wit, comprising a mother duck and two ducklings cast in silvered metal and brass. The centrepiece is the duck herself, rendered in a dramatic forward-lunging pose — her neck stretched long and low, almost horizontal, as though reaching to feed in the shallows — a composition that captures a fleeting moment of aquatic life with unusual sculptural energy. She stands on a flat plinth base, her clawed webbed feet firmly planted, while the extended neck and bill describe a sweeping arc that gives the figure exceptional presence for its scale.

The two ducklings, considerably smaller and more compact in form, accompany their mother as independent pieces, each modelled in a more upright pose that contrasts effectively with the mother’s energetic horizontal extension. The surface treatment across all three pieces combines oxidised silvered metal with warm brass highlights, the textured feathering of the plumage rendered with a light touch that suggests rather than catalogues each quill. The result is a group that reads as both naturalistically convincing and formally elegant.

Such animalier ensembles — families or pairs of birds and animals rendered in precious metals for the dressing table, console, or library shelf — were a well-established genre within the French decorative arts, with roots reaching back to the great animalier sculptors of the nineteenth century. This example, with its lively pose and accomplished finish, represents the best of the tradition as it continued into the 1970s.

French craftwork, circa 1970. Sold as a set of three.