Sometime in the 1920s Godchaux encountered Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book which inspired a completely new vision for his figures: he rejected the stylised depictions of many of his contemporaries and his models became naturalistic.
He received a silver medal at the International Decorative Arts Exhibition of 1925 and later sold several of his figures to the French state and to the museum in Newark, New Jersey.
Godchaux was particularly accomplished at portraying elephants, but his menagerie included numerous other wild animals, among them this 17in (45cm) long bronze Lionne couchée (above).
Like all the figures he modelled for commercial purposes, the lioness was cast by Susse Frères Editeurs in Paris. On October 26 it is being offered by Quentin in Berlin for an estimated €12,000-15,000.
