Java Deer

Antoine-Louis Barye

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1838 Barye obtained a commercial patent for casting small bronzes, and by 1845 he had formed a partnership with the entrepreneur Emile Martin for the purpose of producing small bronzes in quantity for middle-class collectors. Barye soon began to market his bronzes with the aid of a series of catalogues that permitted the purchaser to order from a variety of models. The earliest catalogue was published in 1844. The catalogue of 1847 stated that each bronze would be numbered and punch marked, but the marking system was quickly abandoned, perhaps because of its very success. After Barye's death, the models were bought by a number of founders, some of whom continued to use them for many years.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art