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170217

Magnificent Bronze Sculpture Hippopotamus Hippo

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,400.00 USD
Magnificent Bronze Sculpture Hippopotamus Hippo
Hippopotamus Hippo Bronze Sculpture, After Barye, 9"H x 16"W x 7"D 16 lbs. This bronze sculpture was produced using the "Lost Wax" casting method. The"Lost Wax" Cast method is the most precise metal casting technique in existence, ensuring exquisite detail of the original host model which is usually sculpted in clay or wax. This "Lost Wax" casting method is an extremely labor intensive and expensive process, but the end results produce a Heirloom Quality Masterpiece!Antoine-louis Barye (1796 - 1875) Originally trained as a goldsmith, Antoine-Louis Barye served in Napoleon's army before studying sculpture and painting. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1818 and adapted the romantic-style subject matter of violent and majestic animals. After his crocodile-like sculpture entitled Tiger Devouring a Gavail, won a medal at the Salon of 1831, Barye became a successful and independent sculptor and painter. His animal sculptures competed at the Salon alongside the more traditional and revered human figures. In 1845, Barye began a foundry that produced smaller and more affordable bronze statues. He was appointed the keeper of plaster casts at the Louvre and professor of zoological drawing at the Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle, both in Paris. Elected to the Academie in 1868, Barye inspired a later generation of animal sculptors who called themselves the animaliers.The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or hippo, hippos, riverhorse, is a large, mostly plant-eating mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other is thePygmy Hippopotamus). The hippopotamus is the heaviest extant artiodactyl, despite being considerably shorter than the giraffe.This compound word is the wrong way round for Greek and correctly would mean "horse-river". The more common Ancient Greek term was ?pp?? p?taµ?? "horse of river",The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers and lakes where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups of 5 to 30 females and young. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud; reproduction and childbirth both occur in water. They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While hippopotamuses rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos are not territorial on land.Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about million years ago.The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around million years ago. The earliest known hippopotamus fossils, belonging to the genus Kenyapotamusin Africa, date to around million years ago.The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, nearly-hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is the third-largest land mammal by weight (between 1½ and 3½ tons), behind the white rhinoceros (1½ to 4 tons) and elephants (3 to 7 tons). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 18 mph (29 km/h) over short distances. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world and is often regarded as the most ferocious animal in Africa. There are an estimated 125,000 to 150,000 hippos throughout Sub-Saharan Africa; Zambia (40,000) and Tanzania (20,000-30,000) possess the largest populations. They are still threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth.
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