Ceramic leopard, Italy, 1970s

Description

Ceramic leopard, Italy, 1970s

A large leopard figure, probably produced in Italy in the 1970s. The figure is made of high-quality, hand-painted ceramic in vivid shades of orange, densely speckled with black spots. The leopard is ideal as a decorative accent in a study or living room, and as an addition to interiors in the Hollywood Regency style.

Animal sculpture has a very long tradition dating back to Paleolithic times. Figurines of game animals, often associated with magic and religious cults, were intended to serve as amulets. Over the following centuries, artists carved animal forms in stone, modelled them in clay and cast them in bronze. It was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that animal sculpture gained an independent status. Alongside the development of the cabinet arts and collecting, small-scale sculptures depicting a wide variety of animals grew increasingly popular. Art Nouveau artists drew abundant inspiration from the animal world, creating both standalone sculptures and furniture, vessels and jewellery inspired by the shapes of animal bodies. In the Art Déco style, complex animal forms were reduced to simple geometric solids which, combined with details and refined materials, produced an extraordinarily decorative effect. A master of this type of treatment was François Pompon, whose figure of a walking polar bear became canonical. Great avant-garde artists likewise did not shy away from animal forms. Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore are enough to mention.

The figurine is in original vintage condition.