This white marble sculpture, Cat Feeding Her Kittens, signed and dated E Fremiet 1863, is estimated at £10,000-12,000 in the August 28 sale at Plymouth Auction Rooms.
The 2ft (60cm) work is similar to Emmanuel Frémiet’s (1824-1910) sculpture Chatte et ses petits which was exhibited at the 1849 Paris Salon and the International Exhibition in London in 1862. It comes from the family of Adelaide-born Colonel Arthur Waite (1894-1991) who married Irene Austin, the daughter of Herbert Austin (Austin Motor Company).
Col Waite, who had served at Gallipoli, won motor-racing events at Brooklands and Monza. In Australia he won the 100 Miles Road Race in a supercharged Austin 7. This event later became known as the 1928 Australian Grand Prix.
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