Dog Chasing a Swan (Chien poursuivant un cygne)

This porcelain sculptural group depicts a hostile confrontation between a swan and a dog – the dog is shown crouching and barking, perhaps readying for a lunge, while the swan seemingly squawks and hisses while rearing back. These animals are both completely gilded, or decorated in gold, while the rocky ground on which they stand as well as the background of vegetation have been covered in a bright blue glaze that has been accented with additional gilding. Cracks or fissures within ceramic body can be seen in various places, such as near the dog’s rearmost foot.

Inscription

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

E. M. (Edwin Marriott) Hodgkins Collection, Paris; A. Seligmann, Rey and Co. (date and mode of acquisition unknown); purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1928; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.