Cerf, biche et faon ou Famille de cerf, première version (Stag, doe and fawn or Stag family, first version)

As with Famille de daim (see lots 54-5), in Famille de cerf Barye again brings together three individually-edited models. The stag is the Cerf qui écoute of 1838 (see lot 67), the doe the Biche couchée of 1840 (see lot 68), and the fawn the Faon de cerf couché, also from 1840 (see lots 59-60). Barye modelled two versions of the group, the first with striated base, as here, the second with a more naturalistic base, with the addition of a tree stump and grooved edge. Like many of the stag models, the modèle formed part of lot 718 in the Atelier sale and the second version was subsequently edited by Barbedienne.