Jj.ducel Paris 19th Century Garden Statue

Large cast iron garden statue from the 19th century signed on the plinth -JJ DUCEL Master of FORGES in Paris- (Jean-Jacques Ducel born in Marseilles 1801-1877 in Paris, foundry sculptor and French forge master) beautiful romantic composition staging a cupid in the posture of a caryatid holding an ovoid planter with gadroon pattern. Good general condition, beautiful natural patina. Dimensions: 1 m 13 high X 31 cm wide / Base: 27 cm in diameter. Jean-Jacques Ducel (1801-1877) founder in Paris. Created at the beginning of the century, the Ducel foundry was one of the pioneers in the production of cast iron works of art with the awarding of a medal at the Salon in 1844 and then noticed in 1851 during the first Universal Exhibition in London, of which the work was rewarded by obtaining the honorable mention for vases, basins, bas-reliefs, torches and religious objects. At the Universal Exhibition of 1867 in Paris, the jury awarded him a gold medal. The ironmaster was elevated to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor the same year. The 19th century was the century of iron, cast iron designates both a material (cast iron), a technique (foundry), a product adorned in series (mainly statuary) and urban equipment (monumental fountains , Wallace fountains, benches, candelabra, Guimard metro station entrances). Cast iron, born at the beginning of the 19th century, reached its peak at the end of the 19th century. It responded to a demand for decorative art (private and public) in a double progress: that of iron metallurgy and that of the city (urbanism of the Haussmann type). The realization of statues (in the broad sense: real characters or decorations of monuments or fountains) passed by bronze: metal easy to melt, giving a fine model appreciated by sculptors. Bronze is expensive, but is perfectly suited to an aristocratic art, which makes it valuable to the “powerful” as well as artists. At the beginning of the 19th century, a double evolution was noted: for cost reasons, the quality of the bronzes deteriorated. And the lost wax technique, which is also difficult and expensive for large pieces, has been challenged by sand casting.