Animalier Brass Fighting Cock

A rooster figure worked in brass and bronze-toned metal, built from individually shaped elements riveted together to form the wings, tail, and comb. Each is finely worked with linear detailing to suggest feathering. The figure stands in a striding, alert pose with head thrown back and beak open, wattle and comb rendered in high relief. The tail is composed of long, curving plumes that fan outward, and the wings are similarly built from layered, feather-shaped pieces. The surface has deepened to an olive-bronze throughout, with verdigris pooling in the recesses.

Figures of this type are consistent with the French animalier tradition, which favored dynamic, sculptural treatments of birds and game animals from roughly 1830 through the early 20th century.

Style: Continental Animalier
Materials & Techniques: Fabricated sheet metal, assembled construction, engraved surface detail
Period: likely 20th C.