Patinated Bronze Mandarin Duck By Geoffrey Dashwood

This patinated bronze Mandarin Duck by Geoffrey Dashwood is a strong example of his signature approach to avian sculpture. The duck stands with wings lifted, rendered in smooth, continuous curves that eliminate all surface detail. The form reads as a single, flowing mass. Minimal incised lines follow the natural contours of the bird, reinforcing its shape rather than describing feathers or texture. The patina is a warm reddish brown that deepens across the rounded body. The piece is signed and numbered 3/12, part of a limited edition of twelve. It sits on a cast round base with felt on the underside.

Dashwood refined his sculptures to attain smooth, tactile, pure forms, further enhanced in bronze by the application of colored patinas. His work sits firmly within contemporary art, well beyond the category of wildlife sculpture.

Born in 1947 in Hampshire, England, Dashwood studied at the Southampton College of Art before working with the Forestry Commission as a keeper in the New Forest National Park. His work is held in the collections of Rice University, the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Wyoming, the Gana Art Collection in Seoul, and the Royal Collection at Sandringham. He was the first living artist given a major retrospective exhibition at the Nature in Art Museum in Gloucestershire.