Terracotta ceramic cheetah or leopard statue, 1950s

An exceptional rare model of a cheetah in terracotta. Many statues of this nature are always in an upright. Seated position. This model however is clearly not and i've never seen another one. It is also clearly one of the earlier models. Apparently it was bought in paris around 1959 but it remains a story. It is definitely not younger than 60s. Often attributed to italy but france is also in the mix. It is in great shape considering it's age, please see all pics for it's condition. There is a pair available ( see last pic ) although our other model is a little younger than this one.