PROBABLY THE WORKSHOP OF DENIS ANTOINE CHAUDET (1763-1810), EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Details

AN EMPIRE MARBLE BUST OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
PROBABLY THE WORKSHOP OF DENIS ANTOINE CHAUDET (1763-1810), EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Mounted on a modern parcel-gilt simulated-porphyry pedestal
22 in. (56 cm.) high; the base; 42 in. (107 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired from Lennox Money Antiques, Ltd., London, 1978.

By repute this bust was one of the four captured by the British from a French frigate in the Bay of Bengal, during the Anglo-French conflicts along the South East coast of India. In 1816, after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, the region of Pondicherry reverted to French control. However, the glory days were over as Pondicherry found its key trading centre, Chandernagore, eclipsed by the nearby British establishment of Calcutta. This bust reputedly stood in the Reading Room of the Bengal Club, Calcutta, until 1948.

Special notice

This lot will be removed to an off-site warehouse at the close of business on the day of sale - 2 weeks free storage

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Lot Essay

The present bust of Napoleon, conceived in the antique manner, is of the type traditionally associated with Antoine-Denis Chaudet, who, after Canova, was among the most important sculptors of the Napoleonic period. See Christie's, New York, 2 December 2004, lot 2080, for a closely related example, inscribed 'Napoleon'.

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