Desk Inkwell In Sea-green Marble And Bronze 'lioness' By P. Delabrierre

A desk inkwell in sea-green marble and chased and patinated gilt bronze.
The upper section features a bronze by Édouard Paul Delabrierre (1829-1912) depicting a lioness chasing a pair of rabbits.
The subject is flanked by two bronze inkwells with a medal patina and gilt tops, each containing a glass inkwell.
Signed on the base: E. Delabrierre.
The undulating tabletop has a central recessed compartment for small pockets, and a groove within the tabletop accommodates a floral frieze in gilt brass.
The whole rests on five toupie feet in chased and gilt bronze.
Label on the reverse: "Horlogerie Joaillerie Charuyer, Place du Palais, Rennes".
Late 19th century. Height: 17 cm - Length: Height: 36 cm - Depth: 19 cm.
Paul Edouard Delabrierre, born in Paris, was a member of the animal painters' school and an important figure in the School of Animalists in late 19th-century Paris. In the last two years of his career, he devoted himself to three-dimensional sculpture, influenced by Antoine Louis Barye. Delabrierre first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1848 and continued to do so until 1882.