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Lot Essay
The present horse is the only known example of its kind. It was very likely made as a special order for Johann Friedrich Carl von Ostein, the Archbishop and Elector of Mainz, who at the founding of the Hoechst Porcelain Factory in 1746 gave the priviledge for the firms wheel mark.
It has been posited that a 'c' added to the wheel mark could refer to a special commission for the count, but there would appear to be no documentation to support this theory.
Siegfried Ducret confirms in his book that the horse is unique and that it was "doubtless" modelled by Johann Gottfried Becker in 1755 (in his book mistakenly printed as 1775). He also mentions that the present horse "was one of the prizes in the porcelain lottery at Höchst on September 4th, 1770. In the list of the prizes it is described as the Rearing horse and is valued at 5 fl."
Johann Gottfried Becker was mentioned in the Höchst factory list from 1747 through 1757. He was known as a superb modeller of animals; prior to Höchst, from 1740-1746, he had been apprenticed by Johann Joachim Kändler at Meissen. See Siegfried Ducret, Deutsches Porzellan und deutsche Fayencen, mit Wien, Zürich und Nyon, Fribourg ans New York, 1962, page 80.
The present model appears to be corresponding to the bronze horse modelled by Francesco Fanelli and could have been the inspiration for our porcelain model. For a pair of ormolu-mounted bronze horses attributed to Franceso Fanelli, see Christie's New York, 2 November 2000, lot 9 (also illustrated to the left).
Caption:
The pair of related Louis XV ormolu-mounted bronze horse presse-papiers, attributed to Franceso Fanelli, formerly in The Riahi Collection
It has been posited that a 'c' added to the wheel mark could refer to a special commission for the count, but there would appear to be no documentation to support this theory.
Siegfried Ducret confirms in his book that the horse is unique and that it was "doubtless" modelled by Johann Gottfried Becker in 1755 (in his book mistakenly printed as 1775). He also mentions that the present horse "was one of the prizes in the porcelain lottery at Höchst on September 4th, 1770. In the list of the prizes it is described as the Rearing horse and is valued at 5 fl."
Johann Gottfried Becker was mentioned in the Höchst factory list from 1747 through 1757. He was known as a superb modeller of animals; prior to Höchst, from 1740-1746, he had been apprenticed by Johann Joachim Kändler at Meissen. See Siegfried Ducret, Deutsches Porzellan und deutsche Fayencen, mit Wien, Zürich und Nyon, Fribourg ans New York, 1962, page 80.
The present model appears to be corresponding to the bronze horse modelled by Francesco Fanelli and could have been the inspiration for our porcelain model. For a pair of ormolu-mounted bronze horses attributed to Franceso Fanelli, see Christie's New York, 2 November 2000, lot 9 (also illustrated to the left).
Caption:
The pair of related Louis XV ormolu-mounted bronze horse presse-papiers, attributed to Franceso Fanelli, formerly in The Riahi Collection