Alfred Barye was born the son of famous animalier sculptor Antoine Louis Bayre. Although he was a noted sculptor in his own right he worked in the shadow of his more famous father his whole life. Alfred studied sculpture under is father and learned the art and craft of sand casting bronze at an early age. His early work shows a strong influence of the teaching and the style of his father. He was best known for his portraits of racehorses that reflected his own distinct style but many of his works were sculpted in the style of his father. The fact he signed his early work “A. Barye” or simply “Barye” causes much confusion about which artist created some of these pieces. It is a common for an Alfred Barye sculpture to be attributed and sold as a sculpture by his father. After a family disagreement and the insistence of his father Alfred began signing his work “Alf Barye”, “A. Barye fils.”, or “Barye fils”. The latter is the case in the figurative lamp in question.
Emile Guillemin was the son of the painter Emile Marie Guillemin and studied under his father as well as French sculptor Jean Jules B. Salmson. Guillemin’s sculptural style shows a very strong influence from Salmson. Guillemin made his debut in the Paris Salon in 1870 and won an award at the Salon in 1897 with a sculpture of two gladiators. He is noted in the “Orentalist” movement of that time.
The main body of Alfred Barye’s work is the depiction of animals, which brings us to the inclusion of the name Guillemin on the lamp. While not shown in any documentation on this piece it is my trained opinion that Barye sculpted the horse, sheep and, goose featured on the lamp, and that Gillemin sculpted the rider. Guillemin is best known for his depictions of the human figure. It is not uncommon to find collaborations such as this.
The image on this lamp is a fairly common bronze casting by Barye and Guillemin. This spelter lamp version was produced by “Fabrication Francaise, Paris”. The circular foundry mark bares this name at the top, an image a crucible set on flames in the center, with the “Made in France” ringing the bottom of 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.
“Fabrication Francaise, Paris”, (the earliest known mention of the company name is 1892) was a production company that manufactured many sculptures “after” the artist produced bronze sculptures. Many were modified to include lamps or clocks but most of their castings were reproductions of the original sculptures sans the functional elements. These reproductions were rarely cast in bronze but cast in spelter metal or what is commonly called white metal or 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 less expensive spelter metal were most likely produced for the home décor and export markets between 1892 to as late as 1915. When this company ceased to exist is not known, but many European governments, leading up to World War I, absorbed private metal work manufactures for war production.
The condition of this lamp is surprisingly good given the delicate nature of the piece. According to the history, the lamp was purchased in France between 1903 - 1905).
The paint on the figures and the lamp, while not mint, is all original and in excellent condition. The only aperantly missing piece is the powder horn that appears in many images of the original bronze castings. The bronze straps that held the powder horn are still attached to the sculpture. On this version of the sculpture the powder horn was probably brass like the hunters gun. The horses’ rains are also made of bronze.
The palm tree that serves as the lamp itself has a spelter metal trunk with palm fronds hand cut and modeled from brass. The screw that secures the tree trunk to the left shoulder of the rider appears to be to have been replaced at sometime. Some of the glass beads have become separated from the piece but most of them still exist. The original thread for the red beads is gold silk. There is evidence that some skillful restoration of the strands of beads has been attempted using red thread.
The electrical fixture is the original brass and ceramic bobashe’ light sets. The cord is original with a replacement plug.
In my research of all aspects of this piece I have come to the conclusion that it is a very unusual piece, if not rare. I have checked gallery records, auction records and published resources, and while finding dozens of original and reproduced versions of the Barye / Guillemin sculpture, I have not found a single duplicate of this lamp.
Barye / Guillemin Lamp
Dimensions
Overall from bottom of base to top of the highest palm frond on lamp 39 inches.
From the base to the top of the riders head 25.5 inches.
The base is 20.5 inches X 10 inches.
As thickness varies from casting to casting of any mass-produced sculptural work weight is not a factor in determining authenticity.
The measurements of the horse and rider are consistent with examples displayed in galleries and at auction. I have seen one example that is noticeably larger which to me denotes a mach-up. The consistency in size between the original bronze and the spelter recasts produced by with the “Fabrication Francaise, Paris” foundry mark suggests the spelter castings were produced from the original molds. The period that these pieces were produced the typical casting method would have been sand casting. Investment casting was also prominent at this time but was more time consuming, thus more expensive. This method has a smaller shrink rate then an investment/gravity fed cast, but a size difference would still be notable. Ie. If you make a mold of an existing bronze sculpture that is 12 inches high, for example, the second casting would be ¼ inch smaller then the original. But if you make a copy of that bronze using the mold it was created from you will end up with a reproduction that is consistent with the first cast.
Patrick Kelly Berry
I have been a professional artist since 1965. My first training as an artist was under the instruction of Morris Blake, Ace Powell and Joe Abbrescia. I have over thirty years experience in the art of bronze casting producing work for Bob Scriever, Adrien Voisin, Eleanor Wade, and Harry Jackson to name a few.
Among my own sculptures I designed and produce two post season awards for the National Basketball Association. I also sculpted portraits of Bob Devany and Tom Osborn for the University of Nebraska for the centennial of their football program. At present I have thirtysix active bronze editions.
Over the years I have worked on restoration and appraisals of antique sculptures, both castings and originals (plasters, wood, and stone). I am considered an authority on the style and technique of E. E. Hiekka, having restored nearly a dozen of Heikka’s hand painted original plasters. I have also done restoration work on spelter pieces by Kabba, and Frankart.
