A BRONZE EQUESTRIAN GROUP OF LOUIS XIV

The C couronné poinçon was a tax mark used between March 1745 and February 1749 on any alloy using the metal copper.

This type of equestrian figure, traditionally ascribed to Desjardins, was attributed for the first time to de Groff by H. Friis on the strength of comparison with the small equestrian figure of Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria, signed by de Groff and dated 1741. P. Volk (op. cit.) distinguished twelve types, representing Louis XIV and five other rulers. These statuettes had a great success because of their adaptability to several rulers such as Charles XII of Sweden and William III of England (now at Windsor Castle).

The present example shows the evolution of the type: the flying cape has disappeared, the end of the horse's tail is divided into three parts, the king is crowned with laurel. It is very close to the statuette of an unknown prince which Volk dates about 1740 now in the now in the Focke Museum, Bremen.

Pre-Lot Text

VARIOUS PROPERTIES