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Lot Essay
Baron Henri-Joseph-François de Triqueti (1803-1874) was born in Conflans, Loiret, the son of a Piedmontese diplomat. As a youth was mentored by his family's neighbour, the Romantic painter Anne-Louis Girodet and he initially trained as a painter and draughtsman under Louis Hersent before embarking on a career as a sculptor. Triqueti made his debut at the Salon of 1831 with a bronze relief of the Death of Charles the Bold, for which he won a medal, as well as the attention of King Louis-Philippe and the Royal family, who subsequently commissioned him to create the bronze doors of the church of the Madeleine amongst several other works.
In 1834 Triqueti married Julia Forster, daughter of the chaplain to the British Ambassador in Paris from 1852 and 1867, Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, Lord Cowley. The marriage provided a new source of patronage as Cowley and his brother Gerald Wellesley, Dean of Windsor from 1854 to 1882, commissioned a number of works from Triqueti, including the decoration of the Wolsey chapel in Windsor Castle. Through his relationship with the family, he was also able to sell a number of sculptures directly to Queen Victoria, such as Edward VI Reading the Holy Scriptures and Sappho and Cupid, which she purchased as a Christmas gift for Prince Albert in 1852.
When the present portrait medallion was exhibited as no. 5085 at the Exposition universelle of 1855 (see S. Lami, Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs de l'Ecole Français au dix-neuvième siècle, Paris, 1921, p. 322), the two sitters would certainly have been recognised amongst the aristocracy as the only daughters of Lord Cowley, and grandnieces of the Duke of Wellington. In 1863 Lady Sophia Georgiana Robertina (1840 – 1923) married Charles Philip Yorke, 5th Earl of Hardwicke, the well-known dandy who is considered to have inspired the song 'Champagne Charlie'. In the same year, Lady Feodorowna Cecilia (1838 – 1920) served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Alexandra of Denmark and the Prince of Wales, later Queen Alexandra and Edward VII. In 1874 she married Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, who subsequently served as the British Ambassador to Italy and France.
A similar portrait medallion of Florence and Alice Campbell, executed in plaster and dated 1855, was exhibited by Triqueti at the Salon of 1857 and is currently in the collection of the Musée Girodet.
In 1834 Triqueti married Julia Forster, daughter of the chaplain to the British Ambassador in Paris from 1852 and 1867, Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, Lord Cowley. The marriage provided a new source of patronage as Cowley and his brother Gerald Wellesley, Dean of Windsor from 1854 to 1882, commissioned a number of works from Triqueti, including the decoration of the Wolsey chapel in Windsor Castle. Through his relationship with the family, he was also able to sell a number of sculptures directly to Queen Victoria, such as Edward VI Reading the Holy Scriptures and Sappho and Cupid, which she purchased as a Christmas gift for Prince Albert in 1852.
When the present portrait medallion was exhibited as no. 5085 at the Exposition universelle of 1855 (see S. Lami, Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs de l'Ecole Français au dix-neuvième siècle, Paris, 1921, p. 322), the two sitters would certainly have been recognised amongst the aristocracy as the only daughters of Lord Cowley, and grandnieces of the Duke of Wellington. In 1863 Lady Sophia Georgiana Robertina (1840 – 1923) married Charles Philip Yorke, 5th Earl of Hardwicke, the well-known dandy who is considered to have inspired the song 'Champagne Charlie'. In the same year, Lady Feodorowna Cecilia (1838 – 1920) served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Alexandra of Denmark and the Prince of Wales, later Queen Alexandra and Edward VII. In 1874 she married Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, who subsequently served as the British Ambassador to Italy and France.
A similar portrait medallion of Florence and Alice Campbell, executed in plaster and dated 1855, was exhibited by Triqueti at the Salon of 1857 and is currently in the collection of the Musée Girodet.