# Emmanuel Villanis artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/emmanuel-villanis/
Profile generated: 2026-05-01T01:53:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1858-12-12
- Death date: 1914-08-24
- Nationality: French, Italian
- Common media: bronze sculpture, porcelain

## About Emmanuel Villanis

Emmanuel Villanis (1858–1914) was a French sculptor of Italian descent, born in Lille and active in Paris. Trained as a sculptor, he concentrated on portrait busts and figurative works, producing a large body of sculptural models that were cast in bronze and adapted for decorative porcelain and majolica production. His documented professional relationship with Goldscheider'sche Porzellan-Manufaktur und Majolica-Fabrik placed his designs within the broader late-19th and early-20th-century decorative arts market. Villanis died in Paris in August 1914. His work appears frequently at auction, with over 1,500 documented lots, reflecting sustained collector interest in both his fine-art bronzes and his decorative editions.

## Common works and media

Villanis is best known for portrait busts and figure studies of women, executed in bronze with polychrome patination. His models were also adapted for porcelain and majolica production through the Goldscheider manufactory. Collectors may encounter bronze busts, full-figure bronzes, terracotta studies, and painted porcelain or majolica editions bearing his name or model marks.

## Market and appraisal context

Emmanuel Villanis (1858–1914) has a deep and liquid secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 831 lots with 586 carrying realized prices, spanning May 2003 through April 2026. Annual turnover is steady at 63–65 priced lots per year, indicating sustained collector demand without speculative spikes. Prices cluster in a mid-range band: the interquartile range runs from approximately €420 to €1,554, with a median near €750. The ceiling at €44,000 reflects exceptional pieces, while the floor at €1 captures damaged or misattributed lots. Named works such as "Coquelicot" (€3,000 at Mehlis, Nov 2024), "La Sibylle" ($4,050 at Fontaine's, Feb 2025), and "Tanagra" (€1,350 at Goldfield, Nov 2024) illustrate that well-documented bronze busts with strong patination and foundry stamps command the upper tier of the typical range. Material diversity is notable: beyond cast bronze, Villanis models appear in marble, pewter, silver-plated metal, and porcelain/majolica editions through the Goldscheider manufactory, each trading in a distinct collector segment. Major houses including Sotheby's, Bonhams, Freeman's, and Lyon & Turnbull have offered Villanis lots, alongside German regional specialists (Mehlis, Schloss Ahlden, Historia Auctionata) and smaller US and European galleries.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Emmanuel Villanis (1858–1914) has a deep and liquid secondary market. Appraisily auction records index 831 lots with 586 carrying realized prices, spanning May 2003 through April 2026. Annual turnover is steady at 63–65 priced lots per year, indicating sustained collector demand without speculative spikes. Prices cluster in a mid-range band: the interquartile range runs from approximately €420 to €1,554, with a median near €750. The ceiling at €44,000 reflects exceptional pieces, while the floor at €1 captures damaged or misattributed lots. Named works such as "Coquelicot" (€3,000 at Mehlis, Nov 2024), "La Sibylle" ($4,050 at Fontaine's, Feb 2025), and "Tanagra" (€1,350 at Goldfield, Nov 2024) illustrate that well-documented bronze busts with strong patination and foundry stamps command the upper tier of the typical range. Material diversity is notable: beyond cast bronze, Villanis models appear in marble, pewter, silver-plated metal, and porcelain/majolica editions through the Goldscheider manufactory, each trading in a distinct collector segment. Major houses including Sotheby's, Bonhams, Freeman's, and Lyon & Turnbull have offered Villanis lots, alongside German regional specialists (Mehlis, Schloss Ahlden, Historia Auctionata) and smaller US and European galleries.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these 831 indexed lots as a comparable-sale foundation. An appraisal would layer in the specific piece's photographs, measured dimensions, material identification (bronze, spelter, terracotta, marble, porcelain, or pewter), signature or foundry stamps (e.g., Societe des Bronzes de Paris), condition report covering patination integrity and structural repair, documented provenance, and edition or model identification. Named models like "Coquelicot," "Tanagra," "Salome," "Cendrillon," "Saida," "La Sybille," "Diane," "Mignon," and "Sappho" appear repeatedly in recent records and provide direct comparables when the model matches. Material distinction is critical: a cast-bronze bust and a Goldscheider porcelain edition of the same model may differ in value by an order of magnitude. The appraiser would select comparables matching material, model, size, and condition, then adjust for currency, sale date, and house tier.

### Valuation factors

- [object Object]
- [object Object]
- [object Object]
- [object Object]
- [object Object]
- [object Object]
- [object Object]

### Collector notes

- Villanis bronzes trade in an accessible mid-range (median ~€750), making them attainable for collectors entering the Art Nouveau and Belle Époque bronze market, while exceptional pieces can reach four figures.
- Stable annual auction volume of roughly 63–65 lots per year means collectors can be selective rather than competitive; the same models reappear regularly.
- Verify material before purchasing: listings sometimes describe spelter or composite pieces as bronze, and the price should reflect the actual material.
- Look for foundry stamps (Societe des Bronzes de Paris, Susse Frères, Goldscheider) and compare against documented reference works such as Philippe Dahhan's "Etains 1900" for attribution confidence.
- Marble editions of Villanis models (Sappho, Judith) appear at auction and trade comparably to mid-tier bronze busts — condition and surface integrity are especially important for marble.
- Pewter and decorative metalwork items (vases, jugs) by Villanis trade at lower price points (€120–€500) and may appeal to collectors of Art Nouveau decorative arts rather than fine-art bronze buyers.
- Lots described as "after" Villanis (e.g., reproduction busts) trade at nominal prices ($10 range) and should not be used as comparables for period pieces.

### Market caveats

- Auction prices span multiple currencies (EUR, GBP, USD, AUD, JPY); direct price comparisons require currency normalization to the appraisal basis.
- The €44,000 maximum likely represents an exceptional or outlier piece; the upper bound for typical well-attributed bronze busts is more accurately reflected by the P75 (~€1,554) and recent top results in the €1,350–€4,050 range.
- Villanis models have been widely reproduced; lots described as "after" Villanis trade at nominal prices and should be excluded from comparable analysis for period-cast pieces.
- The source pack does not include condition reports for individual lots; realized prices may reflect condition discounts or premiums that are not visible in the index data.
- Porcelain and majolica editions produced by Goldscheider trade in a different collector market than fine-art bronzes and should be appraised with appropriate category-specific comparables.
- Some recent lots lack realized prices (unsold or results not yet reported), which means the active market may be slightly smaller than the raw lot count suggests.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/emmanuel-villanis/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / Setdart Auction House: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-france-1858-1914-jug-with-lid-ca-1900-silver-plated-pewter-signed-on-the-back-bibliography-philippe-dahhan-etains-1900-200-sculpteurs-de-la-belle-epoque-editions-de-l-amateur-108-c-278fc1db8c
- Invaluable / Gorringes: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-french-1858-1914-salome-135-c-297cfc9544
- Invaluable / Auktionshaus Mehlis GmbH: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-la-sybille-3219-c-5fa1b4755e
- Invaluable / Hill Auction Gallery: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-1858-1914-bronze-desk-table-lamp-171-c-66541a9acc
- Invaluable / Auctions at Showplace: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-sappho-white-marble-sculpture-186-c-8c648db876
- Invaluable / Auctions at Showplace: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-judith-marble-sculpture-35-c-e9a4092991
- Invaluable / Auctions at Showplace: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-cendrillon-bronze-bust-163-c-d214f698a7
- Invaluable / Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-2516-c-26f4b2cb97
- Invaluable / Kunst- und Auktionshaus Quedlinburg: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-1858-1914-mignon-890-c-cf449958ea
- Invaluable / Lyon & Turnbull: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-1858-1914-339-c-74a4deb844
- Invaluable / Auktionshaus Mehlis GmbH: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-emmanuel-villanis-coquelicot-3419-c-9054f65b9b

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authority files and institutional databases with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Emmanuel Villanis, identity data is drawn from the Library of Congress, VIAF, Wikidata, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q321589
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/8293082/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr2005010800
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/221846
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500359054