What material are most pairs of sculptures?

Bronze, by a clear margin. It is named in 183 of the 417 listings recorded on Sellingantiques, and French bronze figures and animal groups form the largest single strand. Everything else divides the remainder: marble, alabaster, carved oak, spelter, stone, cast iron, plaster and pottery, with occasional jade and buffalo horn.

Why are sculptures sold in twos?

Because they were made in twos. Symmetry suited gateways, altars and chimneypieces, so carvers and foundries issued mirrored or companion models to flank them. Guardian lions, facing horses, paired gods or philosophers all come from that habit. The pair as a sale unit follows how the pieces were displayed and bought in the first place.

How old are these pairs usually?

The dated field runs from 1700 to 1960, though only about half the listings carry a clean year. A whole-century label, '19th Century', covers 140 entries on its own. Where decades are given, they gather between the 1850s and the 1930s. Earlier work exists but is thin: a handful of 16th, 17th and 18th-century carvings.

Does 'after' mean the sculpture is a copy?

It means the composition belongs to a known sculptor but the piece itself is a later copy or a reduction, not an original by that hand. The word sits in 38 titles. Marly horses carry it more than any other subject, and those spread right across the range in bronze, brass and bronzed finishes.

Are pairs of sculptures only European?

No. Chinese appears in 22 titles and Italian in another 22, with Japanese in 14, including okimono bronze birds. Austrian, Burmese, Yoruba, Indian, Russian and Tibetan pieces show up singly. One pair of Tibetan bronze temple lions is recorded at 35kg, the heaviest weight in the archive.

What sizes do pairs come in?

Desk scale at one end: figurines, bookends, small bronzes on marble bases. Garden and architectural scale at the other: gatepost lions, composite stone pier finials, life-size hounds, 5ft5in carved bishops. 'Large' turns up in about a tenth of titles.