The GHM foundry perpetuates the tradition of animal art that was the pride of its founder Antoine Durenne (1822-1895). Encouraged by the development of zoos, animal sculpture took off at the end of the 19th century and invaded bourgeois salons. Durenne associated himself with renowned animal sculptors such as Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910) and Henri-Alfred Jacquemart (1824-1896), whose “Chien au collier” (Dog with a Collar) in stained cast iron, 0.95 metres high, is still offered in the GHM catalogue. Antoine Durenne often sold his statues “rough cast”, in order to emphasize the grain and fineness of the cast iron.