Pierre Felix Masseau's "L'Emprise" Bronze Sculpture
Pierre Felix Masseau (French, 1869-1937), L'Emprise c.1897, bronze, dark brown patina, signed to base: Fix Masseau, stamped to base with foundry: Siot Paris, height 31.50 in. Provenance: Sotheby's London, European sculpture and works of Art 900-1900, 11 July 2001, lot 256. Exhibitions: Victorian Visions: Nineteenth-century Art from the John Schaeffer collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 May - 29 Aug 2010. Literature: Masterpieces of Victorian Art from the John and Julie Schaeffer collection and the Art Gallery of New South Wales Collections, exhibit. Cat, Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, pp146-47
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- Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture. - Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 – 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910. - Patination / Patina - In broad terms, patination refers to the exterior surface appearance of the timber, the effect of fading caused by exposure to sunlight and air over the course of a century or more, changing the piece to a soft, mellow colour.
As patina is very difficult to replicate, it is one of the most important guides to determining the age of furniture.
Patina is also the term applied to the bloom or film found on old bronzes due to oxidisation.
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