Jewellery, Watches, Antiquities and Objects of Vertu

A French 19th century bronze desk seal modelled as Voltaire, by Ferdinand Barbedienne, the bust modelled after Jean Antoine Houdon, to socle base, with intaglio monogram, signed ‘F. BARBEDIENNE’ to the reverse, height 8.6cm. £200-£300

Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) was a French metalworker and manufacturer who became known for his bronze reproductions. He went into partnership in 1838 with the artist Achille Collas, who had just invented a machine to create bronze replicas of statues. Together they started a business selling miniatures of antique statues from the collections of major European museums. From 1843 they extended their scope by reproducing the work of living artists and also diversified by making enamelled household objects. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war caused the foundry to cease manufacturing due to a shortage of metals but Barbedienne received a contract from the French government for the production of cannons, allowing business to resume after the end of the war.

This miniature bust of Voltaire, (or François-Marie Arouet, known by his ‘nome de plume’ Voltaire, the French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher), is after the sculpture ‘Voltaire Seated’, of 1781 by Jean Antoine Houdon, (1741-1828). The original marble version is in the Comédie-Française, in Paris, with another marble version, commissioned by Catherine the Great, in Saint Petersburg.