Antique Bronze Figures
A cast metal figure made for a mantelpiece, desk or hall table, usually a single 19th-century subject standing on a plinth or a stone base.
Antique Bronze Figures
Free-standing cast figures of people, animals, deities and classical subjects, running from a few inches to a couple of feet, and often mounted on marble, onyx or alabaster. The form belongs to the 19th century, when commercial foundries put sculpture within reach of a domestic buyer at mantel and cabinet scale.
The one you're most likely to meet is a single French figure in patinated bronze on a plinth. 'French' turns up in 47 of the 330 titles on Sellingantiques and '19th' in 70, with cupids, putti, nymphs, muses and classical goddesses repeating across the strand. Pairs are the commonest multiple, 'pair' appearing in 40 titles, running to lions, temple lions, Marley horses, putti, muses and personified seasons.
Four other strands sit alongside it. Asian work is roughly a fifth of the category, taking in Japanese okimono, Meiji bronzes, Buddhist deities and Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, Thai and Indian figures. Austrian cold-painted animals form a smaller group, and there the desk objects matter as much as the sculpture: inkwells, a vide poche, a pin cushion, a match striker, a desk tidy. Grand Tour souvenirs stick to a fixed repertoire of Medici portraits, the Borghese Gladiator, Spinario, Narcissus, the Dying Gaul and the Drunken Faun of Pompeii.
The metal named in the title isn't always bronze. Spelter appears in 18 titles and bronzed finishes in 13, with brass and copper alloy also named. On dates, the largest single period entry is the broad '19th Century' at 108 listings rather than a decade; where decades are given they gather between the 1870s and the 1930s. A small Asian tail sits much earlier, with 16th and 17th century Javanese and Ayutthaya figures and one Egyptian piece catalogued 'Before 1700'.
What Separates Them
The metal does most of the work. Solid bronze and gilt bronze sit at the top of the range; spelter, the zinc alloy cast to imitate bronze, and bronzed finishes over another metal cluster lower and in the middle. Titles are usually explicit about which, so the word chosen tells you where a piece stands.
A name lifts a figure, though names are the exception. 'Signed' occurs in only 9 titles and 'after' in 12, and the lower end is dominated by listings that say 'bronze figure' and nothing more. Where a sculptor or a foundry is recorded, that piece sits above its neighbours.
Scale and completeness account for the rest. 'Large' appears in 36 titles against 'small' in 11, and sampled heights of 53cm through to 77cm all sit high. An intact pair or group beats a single, and a fitted stone base in marble, onyx, alabaster or sienna adds to a figure that would otherwise stand alone. Worth knowing that the top of the sampled range is held by large Japanese and Sino-Tibetan work rather than by the French bronzes that fill the middle.
Antique Bronze Figures Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for bronze figures, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
The most expensive bronze figure ever sold on Sellingantiques was a large antique Japanese bronze figure, in December 2019.
The Antique Bronze Figures Glossary
- Spelter
- Zinc alloy cast to imitate bronze, and named as such in 18 titles. It carries detail well but is a different and cheaper metal.
- Bronzed
- A bronze-coloured finish applied over another metal rather than solid bronze, used in 13 titles. Victorian bronzed spelter lions and busts are the usual subjects.
- Cold painted
- Unfired paint applied to the cast surface, the hallmark of the Austrian and Vienna animal bronzes. It appears in 22 titles.
- After
- A cast reproducing another sculptor's model, used in 12 titles. It tells you the design is borrowed, not that the piece is a fake.
- Okimono
- Japanese term for a free-standing display ornament, used of several Meiji bronzes. Meiji itself is a period label attached to 11 titles.
- Fondeur
- The casting firm's stamp, distinct from the sculptor's signature. Both are uncommon across the category.
Antique Bronze Figures: Frequently Asked Questions
Are all bronze figures actually solid bronze?
No. Spelter is named in 18 of the titles on Sellingantiques and bronzed finishes in 13, with brass and copper alloy also appearing. Spelter is a zinc alloy cast to look like bronze; bronzed means a bronze-coloured surface over another metal.
Solid bronze and gilt bronze hold the upper end of the range. The metal named in the title is the plainest guide to where a figure sits.
Why do so many listings just say 19th century?
Because it's the bracket dealers reach for when a piece carries no date. Of 330 listings, 108 give '19th Century' as the period, and 17 give 'Victorian', which is a label rather than a year.
Where decades are recorded they gather between the 1870s and the 1930s, with the 1900s, 1920s and 1890s the fullest. The dated field as a whole runs 1800 to 1960.
What are Grand Tour bronzes?
Souvenir reductions of famous antique statues, sold to travellers in Italy. They appear in 21 titles and stay close to a fixed repertoire.
Medici portraits, the Borghese Gladiator, Spinario, Narcissus, the Dying Gaul and the Drunken Faun of Pompeii come round again and again, often catalogued 'after the antique'.
How common are signed bronzes?
Uncommon. 'Signed' appears in 9 titles out of 330, and 'after' in 12, which points to a borrowed model rather than an original hand.
Most of the lower and middle range is catalogued simply as a bronze figure with no name attached. Where a sculptor or foundry is recorded, it lifts the piece.
Do these turn up as pairs?
Often enough that it's a habit of the category rather than a curiosity. 'Pair' occurs in 40 titles.
Matched lions, temple lions, Marley horses, putti, muses and personified seasons all recur. An intact pair sits above a comparable single.
What Asian figures appear in this category?
Roughly a fifth of the category is Asian. Japanese work leads, with 16 titles naming it and 11 carrying the Meiji label, alongside okimono and animal subjects.
Buddha figures appear in 13 titles, and Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, Thai, Indian and Javanese pieces run through the samples. Large Japanese and Sino-Tibetan work holds the very top of the sampled range.