Thomas Francois Cartier (1879 - 1943) designed this spectacular cast spelter sculpture during the Art Deco period in France in the 1920s. The artwork features a lioness with two cubs. This artwork design is refined and powerful, showing the morphology of this big cat in an attitude of protection for its offspring. The material used is cast spelter with a rich gilded bronze and dark brown patina. The engraved hand-written signature on the sculpture base reads Thomas Cartier.
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Note: Thomas François Cartier was born February 21, 1879, in Marseille, France, and died in 1943. He is an animal sculptor and illustrator. Thomas François Cartier was a French sculptor and a late practitioner of the "Animalier style," a mid-19th Century trend of naturalistic yet romanticized portrayals of animals both in painting and sculpture.
Student of Georges Gardet and Victor Peter, he specializes in animal sculpture. Cartier specialized in big cats like lions and panthers, hunting dogs, and decorative objects like bookends, vide poche, and decorative bowls. His sculptures are sometimes also used in clocks. He exhibited at the Salon of French Artists in 1904 and obtained an honorable mention in 1908, a medal of 2nd class in 1910, and a gold medal in 1927.