Sculptures
9 Nov, 2020
Metal statue of classically dressed man and woman signed rancoulet.
Somewhere in the middle of the 60 years that our family spent in this house, this 21 inch high metal statue appeared on a small table in the living room. There it remained until now when the house is sold and it must be determined if it should be tossed or not.
It never appealed to anyone in the family. My mother took an interest in it. A friend of hers who had experience in such art told her that it wasn't bronze (It does pass the magnet test; no attraction).
Just in the past month I examined it closely enough to see the signature worked into the metal, "Rancoulet." I quickly found out the he was a "someone," a prodigious artist who turned out many sculptures in his short life. Most seem to sell for three figures, with a decent number making it to four figures.
I don't know how it came to make it into our house. A good guess would be through my Italian grandfather who worked as a Prudential collector of life insurance premiums in LIttle Italy in Manhattan in the 20's. They moved out from Queens to be near our family in Nassau, which is east of Queens.
The statue is attached to a round one inch wooden base, from which the dark brown coating is peeling off. The statue itself appears to have no significant damage, but is full of dust and needs a cleaning. There was a metal label on the front of the base, which I may have lost, which read [Rancoulet L' Union]. I found no reference to this title on the Internet.
The s
Estimate: $200 - $400