Auguste Moreau Spelter Figure: Child Wrestling Duck, 1906
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A signed spelter figure by Auguste Moreau (1834-1917), 1906, with copyright mark for that year, Paris foundry stamp, signature, the large animated figure of a small child wrestling with an alarmed squawking duck, in cold painted colours upon a rocky base, various impressed and applied marks verso, height 55 cm
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- Spelter - Spelter was the name given to an alloy of zinc and brass or copper used in the 19th century for statuary and lighting. It is a brittle bluish-white metal. It was used as a cheap replacement for bronze, but being brittle easily breaks and can't be repaired. When finished it can often be mistaken for bronze, but if discreet a scratch on the base displays shows a greyish colour, the metal is spelter, if a golden colour the metal is most likely bronze.
- Verso - Verso is the "back" side of a sheet of paper, art work, coin or medal. The front side is "recto".
- Cold Painted - This is term applied to so-called "Vienna bronzes" manufactured in that city starting in late part of the 19th century, and it continued in the early 20th century, but was also used by sculptors working in other areas of Europe at the time..
Traditionally bronzes are finished by treating them with various acids and chemicals and heats, and the patina is incorporated into the surface of the piece.
A cold-painted bronze is decorated with oil paints. The color was not fired, hence the term "cold painted". Reputedly the painting was carried out mainly by women working at home, a typical cottage industry.
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