They lurk in the shadows. Their eyes see all. Their movements arelethally stealth. You won't know you're being hunted until theypounce. This poor moose discovered just that as he took a lazy momentto graze in what he thought was a deserted field. A fast moving Jaguarstrategically slips beneath the moose and curls its massive pawsaround the moose's neck. He sinks his canines into its neck. His facepulls back in a vicious snarl and his ears flatten. The moose beginsto loose his balance but if he does he is lunch. A wild cat's bite cancrush its prey's bones, leaving the victim helpless. The moose willstill be alive when the Jaguar begins to feed. 100% bronze andhandmade, this carefully detailed brown patina sculpture was castusing the "Lost Wax Method" and signed by the artist P.J. Mene.Pierre Jules Mêne, (1810 -1879), was a French Sculptor and Animalière.He is considered to be the pioneer of animal sculpture in thenineteenth-century. Mêne produced a number of animal sculptures,mainly of domestic animals like horses, cows and bulls, sheep, goats,etc., which were in vogue during the Second Empire. He was one of a"school of French animalières" which also included Pierre LouisRouillard, Antoine-Louis Barye, Auguste Caïn, and François Pompon.Mêne himself specialized in small bronze figures which explains whynone of his works exist as public statuary. His work was a popularsuccess with the bourgeois class and many editions of each sculpturewere made, often to decorate the increasingly private homes of theperiod. The quality of these works is high, comparable to Barye's.Mêne also seems to have enjoyed a longer period of success andcelebrity than his contemporaries. He is considered to have been theLost-wax casting expert of his time, later surpassed only by AugusteRodin. Condition: This sculpture is in a very good condition. Bronze Dimensions with Marble Base:Height 11" x Width 13" Marble Dimensions:Diameter 13". Height without base: 10" Weight : 25 LBS Inventory : 53-DW0768435

This item is in great condition.