Designs for the hounds in Société anonyme des fonderies d’art du Val d’Osne, circa 1900, pl. 631, nos 65 and 66
A PAIR OF SECOND EMPIRE CAST IRON MODELS OF RECUMBENT HUNTING DOGS BY JEAN-JACQUES DUCEL, French, circa 1870
Width: 28 in, 71 cm
Depth: 15½ in, 39.5 cm
Further images
A pair of Second Empire cast iron models of recumbent hunting dogs by Jean-Jacques Ducel.
Note: Both models are stamped at the base with the maker’s mark ‘J.J. Ducel, Me de Forges, Paris’.
Jean-Jacques Ducel (1801-1877) was a master founder for casting metal and headed the largest 19th century French metal foundry, which bore his name.
Famous for their monumental cast iron fountains and garden objects, the Ducel foundry also produced a range of fine life-size models of animals, in particular dogs.
The exceptional crispness of the carved detail on these dogs suggests this particular model was cast early in the lifespan of the mould. Moulds are heated up to extreme temperatures and then cooled down again, and in the process they gradually deteriorate. Some definition is lost with each successive casting. In general only fifty to eighty castings are possible before a mould can no longer be used.
