Statuesque pair of antique patinated bronze models of the Marly horses

The patinated bronze models are made after the model by Guillaume Coustou (French, 1677-1746) Each model is of a rearing horse restrained by a semi clad male attendant, on a naturalistic base, signed 'COUSTOU'

The present bronze groups are based on the celebrated marbles by Guillaume Coustou which were originally commissioned for the gardens at the Château de Marly in 1739, subsequently moved by the painter Jacques-Louis David to the entry of the Champs Élysées in Paris in 1794 and are today in the collections of the Musée du Louvre, Paris (M.R. 1802-3). Coustou’s famed rearing horses restrained by grooms were among the most important sculptures created in the 18th century, and were reprised in numerous sizes and media through to the 20th Century