This bronze clad tiger statue is signed 'S. Morani ©️ 1915' on the back, along the bottom. It has an attractive dark bronze patina with darker, almost black, shading in the crevices. The piece is attractively detailed and displays well. It is a nice size at approximately 8 inches long by 4½ inches wide, at the largest point, and just over 5 inches tall. This tiger is in good used condition with the only flaw found being a small knick to the bronze coating on a bottom corner. This is hard to see unless you pick the statue up. Also it could be disguised with a spot of bronze paint if desired. There are a few barely noticeable tiny white specks on the surface. I removed some and they seem to come off fairly easily. This antique tiger was originally half of a set of bookends designed by artist Salvatore Morani.
A little history:
Salvatore Morani, an Italian born artist, studied sculpture for several years at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples and the Academy of a Fine Arts in Rome. In his mid 20's he immigrated to America arriving in 1905. Among has creations are a few different bookend sets designed for companies producing the best bronze and/or bronzeclad sets. He also created larger works and was exhibited in the National Academy in Washington & the National Academy of Design in Manhattan. Morani died in 1964.