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Lot Essay
The present pair of royal busts are likely after portraits conceived by the sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot (1743- 1809), artistic director of the Sèvres sculpture studio 1773-1793 and 1795-1800, and modeled by Josse-François-Joseph Le Riche (1738-1812), who worked in the sculpture studio 1780-1806.
Similar in date to the portraits they support, the highly stylish gilt-bronze and marble bases are a later addition. Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when they were joined up, these bases have been with the biscuit busts for a minimum of nearly sixty years. The interior of each is inscribed in yellow wax crayon with an illegible inventory number, possibly that of The Antique Porcelain Company.
Comparable busts of both the king and queen were included in the exhibition catalogue Visitors to Versailles Louis XIV to the French Revolution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 16 April - 29 July 2018, p. 175, nos. 84 and 85 respectively. The British Royal Collection includes a pair purchased by King George IV, with slight variations in the modeling of the king’s lace jabot and in the sizes. See Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, French Porcelain in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, Royal Collection Publications, 2009, vol. III, pp. 1084-1087, cat. nos. 307 (RCIN 39496) and 308 (RCIN 39497) for a description of these examples and a detailed discussion of who modeled them and when.
Similar in date to the portraits they support, the highly stylish gilt-bronze and marble bases are a later addition. Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when they were joined up, these bases have been with the biscuit busts for a minimum of nearly sixty years. The interior of each is inscribed in yellow wax crayon with an illegible inventory number, possibly that of The Antique Porcelain Company.
Comparable busts of both the king and queen were included in the exhibition catalogue Visitors to Versailles Louis XIV to the French Revolution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 16 April - 29 July 2018, p. 175, nos. 84 and 85 respectively. The British Royal Collection includes a pair purchased by King George IV, with slight variations in the modeling of the king’s lace jabot and in the sizes. See Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, French Porcelain in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, Royal Collection Publications, 2009, vol. III, pp. 1084-1087, cat. nos. 307 (RCIN 39496) and 308 (RCIN 39497) for a description of these examples and a detailed discussion of who modeled them and when.