Bronze sculpture with unidentifiable signature.

Any thoughts on this piece are greatly appreciated. Someone has tried to scratch the patina off to read the signature. I kind of get the feeling that signature was purposely made unidentifiable. Maybe a fairly recent product of China? The bottom is covered with green felt (which appears to be old) and the sculpture is heavy. I didn't pull the felt back to see if it's full of lead or plaster. However, I'm almost certain it's solid bronze. TIA, Joe

 

Hi Joe,
Where it was scratched does a gold color show or a silvery color? It is hard to tell with the photo. If a golden color it might be bronze or not. With a silver color it is not bronze. I would soak off the felt, it will not devalue one way or the other. You can always glue it back on.
greg

 

Just a wild-eyed guess/comment but . . . see 3rd (small) photo down in opening post --

In my opinion there is a decidedly Asian feel because of the two curving/wavy lines above the eyeballs which remind me of Asian/Oriental theatrical makeup.

 

The scratch is gold. It appears silver because of the reflecting light. I'm almost certain it's sold bronze. I guesstimate it's weight around 10 pounds. What is the child setting on, a pillar or well? It look like the first name might start SEY' and the second word MO.

 

Guessing it is a mass-produced copy of an "original" work or copy of a better-defined copy. The characters in the "signature" area are poorly-defined and look like 2nd or 3rd impressions, which is why some of that area is illegible.

The definition on the rest of the item isn't representative of the quality available with sculpture-grade bronze, which expands slightly while cooling, filling even hair strands in the mold. Since the item's quality doesn't call for expensive sculpture-grade bronze, the yellow metal you see may be cheaper brass. I would also expect an item like this to be hollow metal, filled with plaster or something other than metal. Best to peel back a little of the felt to get more info.

 

Might want to compare yours to some of these 500+ bronzes for sale-one nude lady seems to be sitting on a very similar plinth or well or commode: http://www.aliexpress.com/price/nude-bronze-sculptures_price.html