Italian silver and silver-gilt group of a rider, horse and lion

This superb sculptural group depicts a horse, its rider, and a lion; the three figures interacting with great animism and dynamism. The lion, wrought from silver-gilt, attacks the rearing horse, throwing its rider upwards as he attempts to spear the large cat. The horse and its rider are crafted from silver, which is parcel gilt on occasion. The three figures are superbly wrought, with their poses and postures rendered naturalistically.

The group is supported by a sodalite plinth and is marked ‘800’, signifying the purity of the silver, together with further marks indicating that this fine sculpture was made in Milan, Italy.