AFTER MODELS BY LOUIS GARNIER AND MICHEL ANGUIER, FRENCH, CIRCA 1780

Details

A PAIR OF GILT-BRONZE FIGURES OF BACCHUS AND AMPHITRITE
AFTER MODELS BY LOUIS GARNIER AND MICHEL ANGUIER, FRENCH, CIRCA 1780

Each on a white marble plinth with ormolu foliate scrollwork and bun feet decoration
14 3/8 and 14 1/8 in. (36.5 and 35.9 cm.) high; 17 ½ and 17 ¼ in. (44.4 and 43.7 cm.) high, overall

Provenance

Purchased by Count Francis Esterhazy in the 1920s, traditionally from a sale by the Soviet government of works of art, and thence by descent.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
New York, M. Knoedler & Co, The French Bronze 1500 to 1800, 1968, nos. 19a and 19b.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Harriet Bingham

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Lot Essay

In the 1920s, when the young Soviet government was short of foreign currency, they attempted to alleviate the problem by selling art from the collections of the former imperial family, the aristocracy, and museums. By family tradition, these bronzes were purchased in one of these sales, although documents of the period are incomplete, and it has not been possible to confirm the provenance to date.

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