The firm of Besse et Cie included this statuette among 23 small sculptures by Barye offered for sale in 1844. In the catalogue, they are described as "appropriate to serve as paperweights, desk ornaments, and shelf ornaments."
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Antoine-Louis_Barye" class="extiw" title="w:en:Antoine-Louis Barye"><span title="French sculptor">Antoine-Louis Barye</span></a>
</bdi>
modeled ca. 1838
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