Danseuse au Cothurne No 5, A Gilt-Bronze Sculpture

By Agathon Léonard, circa 1900

Inscribed J.L. Gerome, and stamped A603 with the Siot foundry mark

9 in (22.8 cm) high

cf. Pierre Kjellberg, Bronzes of the 19th Century: Dictionary of Sculptors, 1994, pp.358-360

Closer to Home: The Restoration of Leighton House and Catalogue of the Reopening Displays 2010, Leighton House Museum, 2010, p.13, fig.11

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At the 1900 Paris Exhibition, Gallé exhibited a similar commode called Ipomoea, which was well received, and is now in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Its exhibition inspired the commission of the present commode, Nocturne, for the important collector Henry Hirsch of Nancy. Hirsch did not like the discrete marquetry on the Ipomoea commode, so requested something different. The same framework was used but the morning glories on the broad panels of the Ipomoea were replaced by chrysanthemums and a mother-of-pearl butterfly. It is believed that no other Nocturne commode was ever made and this piece can be regarded as an undiscovered treasure.