It could be 200 years old it could be 20 years old.

For centuries, original bronzes from India have been used to make a mold. The antique original may have wax painted over it, submerged in clay, etc. to make an exact mold and than a brand new copy of the original cast from that (I am not going to go into the compete casting process)

Unless the owner is an expert in Indian antiquities (which I doubt, because than you might not be asking here) or the owner is 200 years old and purchased it herself in India, again I doubt it. The phrase "The owner seems to think", is often more accurately translated to "The owner would like to believe she has an Antiques-Road-Show-Oh-My-Gosh-Really? treasure, but has no idea what so ever of it's age or worth" or "The owner was fed a line of bunk when she bought it at the import shop that closed ten years ago"

I have seen quite a few of the old bronzes and re-castings and new pieces.

To me, the style and quality of the sculpture (and chasing) suggests a piece made in the late 19th century early 20th. But I am no expert. These pieces were copied a lot in the 1970s -and often sold as 200 year old bronzes. The patina put on the 1970s pieces to make them look old can be very convincing and after 40 years, start to resemble the patina of earlier pieces. Photographs can never tell that story, only close inspection by eye and by someone who is familiar with the later recasts. Also, the actual mold marks, if any, chasing and the material (as seen from underneath) would inform the expert, and the subtle differences may not show up in a photo.

What it has going for it is excellent detailing, the beading around the eyes, the chased marks on the ears, blanket and feet -all make it look like the turn-of-the-century piece or a very nice recast. The patina is also very lovely and convincing.

You may want to look for a Hindu or India art forum on line where you can post this photo and they may know better.

If the patina looked at least 40 years old to me when I looked at it up close and I saw it at a garage sale for $75, I would snap it up. If I saw it at an antique mall for $125, I'd buy it. If I saw it at that same mall for $250, I would think, is it really that old? How do they know? Are they experts or just guessing?

This post was edited by Lilylore on Mon, Jan 5, 15 at 15:09

Wow, thank you so much for all the info! This helps immensely!