Bronze animalier sculptures from the collection of the city’s premier business and social club highlight Nov. 9 Decorative Arts event at Heritage Auctions
Membership to The Tower Club of Dallas may be by invitation only, but the chance to own a piece of animalier sculpture from the club’s collection may be much easier to obtain. All it takes is a free online membership at Heritage Auctions (www.HA.com) and a bid in the Heritage Auctions Nov. 9 Signature Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction, where 13 French and Russian bronze sculptures from the club will be featured.
“To the business elite in Dallas, the Tower Club is synonymous with excellence,” said Ed Beardsley, Vice President and Managing Director, Department of Fine Arts, at Heritage Auctions, “and you should expect no less from its artwork. These animalier sculptures, from names like Pierre Jules Mêne, Isidore Jules Bonheur and Georges Gardet, are wonderful examples of the form and certainly priced within the reach of collectors of all levels.”
The award-winning Tower Club of Dallas opened in 1982 with the completion of Thanksgiving Tower in Downtown Dallas. The club is known for its high level of customer service and fine dining, but is perhaps even more important in that it was one of the first elite business clubs in Dallas to operate under a policy of inclusion, never discriminating against its members and their guests based on gender or race.
Highlights of The Tower Club of Dallas French and Bronze sculpture include:
Pier re Jules Mêne (French, 1810-1879), Mare and Foal: Bronze with patina, 21 inches long. Signed on base: P.J. MÊNE. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000.
Pier re Jules Mêne (French, 1810-1879), Cerfs Combattant, 19th Century: Bronze with patina, 23-1/2 inches long. Signed on base: P.J. MÊNE. Estimate: $5,000-$8,000.
Afte r Auguste Nicolas Cain (French, 1822-1894), Brillador and Fanfaron: Coupled Hounds: Bronze with patina, 17 inches high. Signed on base: A. CAIN. Each dog titled on base: BRILLADOR and FANFARON. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000.
I sidore Jules Bonheur (French, 1827-1901), Seated Huntsman with Hounds: Bronze with patina, 15 inches high. Signed on base: I. BONHEUR. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.
After Nikolaï Ivanovich Liberich (Russian, 1828-1883), Standing Bear: Bronze with patina, 22-1/2 inches high. Signed and inscribed on base in Cyrillic. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.
Ge orges Gardet (French, 1863-1939), Tiger Attacking a Tortoise: Bronze with patina, 18 inches long. Signed on base: GEORGES GARDET. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500.
Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $700 million, and 470,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com
