Farm Boy at Chicken Coop

Two examples are pictured.

Description

• Central:
  • The Farm Boy: Positioned on the left in traditional 19th-century peasant attire (smock, vest, breeches, and cap). He rests one foot on a rustic mound while scattering feed from a wide, woven grain basket held in his left arm.
  • The Poultry & Setting: Surrounding the structures are detailed figures of a rooster and a hen pecking at the ground. A wooden grain ladder or plank leads up to the chicken coop, set against a woven fence.
  • Architectural Elements: The center features a round, rustic stone-and-thatch structure (the main coop), paired with a timber side-shed. A wooden water bucket sits to the far right, and a naturalistic tree branch extends at the rear.

Functional Components & Features

• Main Inkwell Compartment: The conical thatched roof of the round tower lifts on a rear hinge to reveal a recessed well fitted with a removable, clear glass ink liner.
• Secondary Compartment (The Side-Shed Lid): The smaller hinged wooden roof on the right lifts to reveal a compartment for storage or a candle.
• Pen Holder: The tree branch attached along the back frame serves as a pen rack (pen rest) to hold a dip pen or quill horizontally when not in use.

Origin, Maker & Shipping Label Analysis

• Country of Origin: France. The overall artistic style—known as scène de genre—is distinctly French, and the piece features a heavy bronze/spelter casting with a gilt-ormolu finish typical of Parisian metal foundries.
• The Glass Liner Label:
  • The label reads: SHIPPED BY / E. DEL. – PARIS / Lachaise 44 / MADE IN FRANCE.
  • Interpretation: This is an original shipping/export label applied in Paris. “Lachaise 44” refers to the street address in Paris from which the item (or its glass components) was exported or dispatched (likely Rue de Lachaise or an abbreviation for a commercial district in the 11th/20th Arrondissements near Père Lachaise). “E. DEL.” represents the freight or export agent (expéditeur) handling French exports to overseas dealers.
• Makers Marks: Foundries in late 19th-century Paris often produced these decorative desktop bronzes for commercial sale without prominent artist signatures on the top surface.

Dating & Age

• Estimated Age: Circa 1890–1910.
• Key Age Indicators:
  • Label Wording: The explicit English phrase “MADE IN FRANCE” indicates manufacture after the passage of the US McKinley Tariff Act of 1890, which required imported goods entering the United States to state their country of origin in English.
  • Style & Casting: The pastoral, romanticized rural theme, combined with the technique of gilt-finished cast metal and a glass liner, is signature to French desktop accessories from the 1890–1905 era.