after VALENTINO PANCIERA BESAREL (Italian 1829-1902) AN EXCEPTIONAL PAIR OF ANTIQUE CARVED WALNUT FIGURAL SCULPTURES, REPRESENTING HUNTING AND FISHING, PROBABLY FRENCH, SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY, each carved as a fisherman or hunter in Renaissance style attire detailed with hunting and fishing accoutrements, as well as game animals or fish of the sea, incorporating a shaped circular base, raised on rectangular carved wood pedestals with canted corners above paneled sides on conforming plinths, the hunter height: 47 1/2"; the fisherman height: 54 1/2". NOTE: By repute these figures were supposed to have been originally commissioned around 1883 by the Frenchman, Major Zacharie Olympe Hériot (1833-1899), a former Mayor of Essoyes and hunting devote, who purchased the Château La Boissière and commenced extensive reconstruction of its interiors and their decoration. Valentino Panciera Besarel (1829-1902) was born in Zoldo, near Bellune, home town of the great carver of the 17th century, Andrea Brustolon. He was encouraged by his father to study under Professor Federici, and worked as a carver for a noted architect Guiseppe Segusini. Later, he received private commissions, and in 1861 his trade card listed amongst his clients Edward, Prince of Wales, the British Consul, Layard, and the King of Italy. He exhibited at the 1878 Paris Universelle Exposition, and won a Gold Medal. The churches of Este and Conselve, near Padua, possess many groups of saints executed by him; armchairs in the manner of Brustolon signed by Besarel are recorded.

Overall very good condition with age cracks throughout, and normal wear associated with items of this age, materials and use.

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