Found a beautiful bronze panther from T. Cartier from my Grandmother

Found a beautiful bronze panther from T. Cartier. What would the mark on the bottom mean?

 

Foundry mark?

 

likely the foundry mark.........


.Thomas Francois Cartier (1879 – 1943) was born in Marseilles, France. He later studied under Georges Gardet gaining skill and experience. He specialized in animal sculpture, often lions and other big cats. Cartier exhibited regularly at the Salon and was awarded a gold medal in 192

seems there are many copies out there....? bwdik??

 

https://www.invaluable.com/artist/c...HIwX1XX78Yj9P8qa2F1_yBWZFB0nV1l2NS-6O94rpowDo

 

Thanks for the info! I’ve been trying to do some digging on this one. As an amateur, I wanted to be sure about the material, so I ran a few basic tests based on what I’ve read online.

It’s incredibly heavy for its size and passed the magnet test. I also did a tiny scratch on the bottom, and it revealed a bright golden-yellow metal underneath rather than the grey/white you'd expect from spelter.

This piece actually belongs to my grandmother, who had quite a collection of antiques, mostly family heirlooms or gifts from great-uncles and aunts, some of whom originated from Germany. Given the family history and the physical tests, I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Would you say this points toward a period bronze, or were high-quality copies also made in this weight class?

 

Full images instead of thumbnails btw:

 

I have no reason to think it's spelter , and by ...copies... I meant more... versions... as it seems some of these are described as .' after T. Cartier ' , while others are listed as ' by Thomas Francois Cartier' .
It's a mystery to me..

 

notice the low hanging tail.......and the siggy between the front paws , and the shorter snout..

https://auctionet.com/en/3513961-after-thomas-francois-cartier-panther

 

..& this T. Cartier.......

 

I would be cautious here. This was a highly popular piece and does seem to have been widely copied. A Google Images search will bring up lots of examples. I'd start by doing a careful signature comparison. Both quality and placement. (To my eye and, after a quick search, it's not a match. But I'd be happy to be wrong.)

Debora

 

You’re totally right about the signature. My phones camera is broken, and sometimes with better light / a better angle (and maybe a soft rub with a towel) it could look totally different. I did find the signatures on various types in that particular spot though, they just looked better then on my photo haha. I’ve also noticed the lug nuts underneath being different then all other examples I’ve found.

I always liked seeing it when i was young in my grandma’s house. So, even if it isn’t authentic, it’s still a pretty good quality bronze copy I guess. We would’ve kept it anyways, maybe some day we’ll found out we where wrong an it was actually one of the first (let’s keep on dreaming haha)