AFTER THE ANTIQUE, A BRONZE FIGURE OF THE VENUS DE MILO CAST BY BARBEDIENNE, MID/LATE 19TH CENTURY

AFTER THE ANTIQUE- A BRONZE FIGURE OF THE VENUS DE MILO
CAST BY BARBEDIENNE, MID/LATE 19TH CENTURY
Signed to cast F. Barbedienne Fondeur and with the Collas reduction méchanique pastille mark, numbered 55 on the underside
47cm high, base 13cm wide

Achille Collas (1795-1859) invented and patented a machine which involved copying sculptures on a smaller scale whilst maintaining the details of the originals- his "réduction méchanique". In 1838 Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) went into business with Collas sculpting and selling miniature bronzes and they founded the company 'Collas et Barbedienne'. The Venus de Milo was the first 'reduced' sculpture made by Collas et Barbedienne and was offered in various sizes and colour patination choices- accommodating the tastes of their clients. The Venus de Milo or "Aphrodite of Melos" is an ancient Greek marble sculpture created during the Hellenistic period, perhaps between 160 and 110 BC. It was rediscovered in 1820 on the island of Milos, Greece, and has been displayed at the Louvre Museum since 1821.