
Société anonyme des hautes fourneaux à fonderies du Val d’Osne, 1898.
A HUGE PAIR OF SECOND EMPIRE CAST IRON LIONS BY PIERRE LOUIS ROUILLARD, CAST BY VAL D’OSNE FOUNDRY, French, circa 1860
Width: 45 in; 114 cm
Depth: 17 in; 43 cm
Further images
The Val d’Osne foundry on the outskirts of Paris was well known for monumental castings. Their exhibits at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London brought them international fame, which resulted in many foreign awards over the following decades. The company engaged some of the leading French sculptors of the time, including Henri Alfred Jacquemart and Pierre Louis Rouillard.
A sale catalogue with thousands of designs for cast iron articles was published by Val d’Osne after their acquisition of two other leading foundries. The items listed ranged from agricultural items and street furniture such as lanterns and fountains to home furnishings and finely sculpted animal statues, which proved very popular.