Pair of patinated bronze Marly horses on Boulle plinths

Each patinated bronze sculpture in this pair depicts a rearing horse restrained by a semi-clad male attendant, with the horse and attendant set above a naturalistically cast integral base. The groups are based on the celebrated sculpted marbles by Guillaume Coustou, which were originally commissioned for the gardens at the Château de Marly in 1739 by King Louis XV. The originals were subsequently moved by the Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David to the entrance of the Champs Élysées in Paris in 1794 and are today housed in the collections of the Musée du Louvre. Coustou’s famed rearing horses restrained by grooms are among the most important and influential sculptures created during the eighteenth century and were recreated in a variety of sizes and materials throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The present models, which are superb examples of their kind, are set atop Boulle style plinths. Each rectangular plinth is of ebonised wood, with the top edge bordered with egg-and-dart moulded ormolu. The four sides of each plinth are adorned with Boulle marquetry of tortoiseshell and brass. The plinths are raised on ormolu feet.