Séraphin Denéchau Bronze Sculpture, ca. 1890
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GUEST:
In the late '70s, my wife and I went to an auction in Basingstoke, England. And we bid on it, and as I recall, that was her birthday gift to me.
APPRAISER:
That's nice. Do you remember what you paid for it?
GUEST:
Just a couple hundred pounds, which would be $400 or $500 in today's money.
APPRAISER:
Did you know who the artist was, or you just like it?
GUEST:
No, we bought it for the look. I've always liked that look. She knew I liked the look, and we bid on it.
APPRAISER:
I think that's probably the only reason to buy something. It is signed. It's signed on the side over here. And the fellow has an interesting name. His name is Séraphin Denéchau. He's a French artist. He worked in the mid-19th century. He studied under very well-known sculptors. He did a lot of public commissions. He did works on the Louvre and the Paris Opera, but he's virtually unknown today. I think this is a piece probably from the 1890s. He died in the early 20th century and when you look at her face, she has sort of an Art Nouveau look that is indicative of the 1890s look. It's very, very well cast. One of the things over here I wanted to point out is this sort of line here.
GUEST:
Right, I saw that.
APPRAISER:
So you've noticed that.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And what do you think that is?
GUEST:
It was broken off? I don't know.
APPRAISER:
No, it wasn't broken off, it was made in parts. And what happened is, this is a separate part and there's a little round pin over here. And what they do is, there are two flanges and they dry this cone-shaped pin, and it brings the two pieces close together. So it's adjoined. It doesn't have any welding or soldering. It's in wonderful condition. This is very minor,. It's easy to fix. The piece you have here, in a retail setting, would probably be in the $5,000 range.
GUEST:
Oh, okay, good.
APPRAISER:
There's one that's 31 inches high that brings about $15,000. And there was one in marble that brought $45,000.
GUEST:
Wow, well, that's good.
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