Lot Essay
Entitled Tachiani et Nedjébé, chevaux arabes, the present model, now known as L'Accolade, was first exhibited in wax at the Salon of 1852 (no. 1479). A bronze cast was exhibited the following year (no. 1440) and, along with two other works, the re-submitted wax won Mêne a medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1855. Subsequently becoming one of the sculptor's most popular models, bronze reductions were published by numerous foundries, making this finely carved alabaster version unusual.