Featured in this lot is this bronze sculpture titled "Horse-In Fence" circa 1837-1879 by renown French sculptor Pierre-Jules Mêne born in 1810 and died in 1879. The sculpture features a wonderfully and professionally crafted bronze on marble base construction that shows a horse fenced-in with sleek attention to detail and wonderful craftsmanship with the horse neighing and looking off to its left. The artist signature can be seen on the ground of the bronze next to the left foot as follows: P.J. Mene. The marble base features a plaque on the front that reads as follows: Horse-In Fence - By P.J. Mene. Mêne was a French sculptor and animalière and is considered one of the pioneers of animal sculpture in the nineteenth-century. Mêne produced a number of animal sculptures, mainly of domestic animals including horses, cows and bulls, sheep and goats which were in vogue during the Second Empire. He was one of a school of French animalières which also included Rosa Bonheur, Paul-Edouard Delabrierre, Pierre Louis Rouillard, Antoine-Louis Barye, his son-in-law Auguste Caïn, and François Pompon. His work was first shown in London by Ernest Gambart in 1849. Pierre-Jules Mêne (1810-1879) specialized in small bronze figures which explains why none of his works exist as public statuary. His work was a popular success with the bourgeois class and many editions of each sculpture were made, often to decorate an increasing number of private homes of the period. The quality of these works is high, comparable to Barye’s. Mêne enjoyed a longer period of success and celebrity than his contemporaries. He is considered to have been the lost-wax casting expert of his time. Examples of Menê’s work reside in venues around the world, including museums such as the Ashmolean, the Louvre, the Metropolitan, and the R.W. Norton Art Gallery. The condition of this bronze sculpture is well preserved with no obvious signs of damage and shows a well preserved overall condition. The measurements of this bronze sculpture is 13" x 17" x 10 1/2". The collective weight of this bronze is 34lb 4oz.