Amalric Walter and Henri Mercier Sea Lion Bookends
Regular price
$4,250
This pair of bookends by Henri Mercie and Amalric Walter presents two sea lions poised atop rocky outcrops, their forms modeled with a quiet naturalism that emphasizes both mass and movement. Each animal rises alertly, bodies slightly elongated as if responding to a distant sound, lending the composition a subtle sense of animation despite its decorative function.
The surfaces are rendered in finely modulated, gradated tones that shift from pale yellow to muted olive green, evoking the play of light across wet skin and lichen-covered stone. This nuanced coloration, characteristic of Walter’s mastery of pâte de verre, softens the sculptural contours and creates a painterly effect, imbuing the animals with a lifelike presence while maintaining a restrained, harmonious palette.
Beyond their function as bookends, the pair operates as a cohesive sculptural ensemble: the mirrored positioning of the sea lions suggests balance and dialogue, transforming utilitarian objects into a unified evocation of coastal life.
Item #: YP-22147
Artist: Amalric Walter and Henri Mercier
Country: France
Circa: 1920
Dimensions: 6.75" height, 3.14" width, 2.16" depth.
Materials: Pâte de verre Glass
Signed: H.Mercier et A. Walter
Item #: YP-22147
Artist: Amalric Walter and Henri Mercier
Country: France
Circa: 1920
Dimensions: 6.75" height, 3.14" width, 2.16" depth.
Materials: Pâte de verre Glass
Signed: H.Mercier et A. Walter
An exceptionally complex method of creating in glass, pate-de-verre is a material produced by grinding glass into a fine powder, adding a binder to create a paste, and adding a fluxing medium to facilitate melting. The paste is brushed or tamped into a mold, dried, and fused by firing. The methodology was long for many centuries leading up to the Art Nouveau time period, but beautifully resurrected by such masters as Walter.
An exceptionally complex method of creating in glass, pate-de-verre is a material produced by grinding glass into a fine powder, adding a binder to create a paste, and adding a fluxing medium to facilitate melting. The paste is brushed or tamped into a mold, dried, and fused by firing. The methodology was long for many centuries leading up to the Art Nouveau time period, but beautifully resurrected by such masters as Walter.
