France. ALLEGORY OF INDUSTRY WITH MERCURY. By Jean-Baptiste Émile Dropsy (1848-1923). Uniface cast iron studio model approximately 9 inches in diameter. The patina is darker in color than suggested by the pictures. $500.

Jean-Baptiste Émile Dropsy was born in 1848 into a family of marble sculptors. He abandoned his family’s profession to pursue a career in metal engraving with Lemoine in Paris. He specialized in producing religious medals, but also produced other works, some of which he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, where he won a second and third prize. He was succeeded in his profession by his better known son, Henry. Émile died in 1923.