Piece of the Vendome column Bronze. Early... - Lot 178 - FW Auction

Lot 178
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Estimation :
1000 - 1500 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 6 400EUR
Piece of the Vendome column Bronze. Early... - Lot 178 - FW Auction
Piece of the Vendome column Bronze. Early 19th century period Dim: 12,5 x14,5cm Cast bronze piece on sand depicting the end of a pair of horse paws. The lower edge has been polished so that it can be engraved "Thiebault fondeur à Paris". Name probably scratched off by one of the foundry's craftsmen. One can read on the hooves "the head of this horse was given to Marshal Mac Mahon" flanked by two other inscriptions. On the upper left field "Debris of the Vendôme column shot down on May 16". On the lower left field " Commune de paris 16 mars 26 mai 1871 ". History of a Monument : The Vendôme column was inspired by the Trajan column in Rome which had impressed Bonaparte during the Italian campaign. Erected between 1806 and 1810 in memory of the Battle of Austerlitz. Victory which gave Napoleon all the legitimacy he needed to sit on the Imperial throne. Many of the greatest artists of the time worked on this project. They include Vivant Denon and Antoine-Denis Chaudet. As for the bronze, it came from the Russian and Austrian cannons then defeated and was cast by Jean-Baptiste Launay. It was unblocked under the commune in 1871 at the instigation of the painter Gustave Courbet. After the fall of the commune, it was in 1875 that Mac-Mahon undertook the restoration of the monument, which he entrusted to the foundryman Thiebaut in Paris. Our fragment marked "Thibault fondeur à paris" comes from this company. The invoice will be addressed to our painter who will have to pay 10 000 francs per year for 33 years. He died in 1877 before being able to pay his first draft. The intervention of a Marshal: Marshal Mac-Mahon received the head of the horse tied to this pair of hooves. The future president of the French republic is far from being a stranger to the history of our column. Indeed, it is he who will give the assault at the head of the "Versailles" who will put an end to the commune of Paris and as we have seen above, will order the restoration of
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