Object Description
This is a finely cast brown patinated bronze Grand Tour sculpture of Napoleon Bonaparte, Mid 19th Century in date.
It features Napoleon standing contrapposto in uniform wearing a bicorn hat and knee-high boots. He stands on a decorative rectangular bronze pedistal, with canon ball and a Telescope.
This high-quality bronze is made from the lost wax process, otherwise known as cire perdue.
Condition:
In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 37 x Width 11 x Depth 11
Weight 4.5 kg
Dimensions in inches:
Height 1 foot, 3 inches x Width 4 inches x Depth 4 inches
Weight 9.9 lbs
Napoleon Bonaparte (French:15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.
Napoleon was born in Corsica to parents of minor noble Italian ancestry and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France. Bonaparte rose to prominence under the French First Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, he staged a coup d’état and installed himself as First Consul; five years later the French Senate proclaimed him emperor. In the first decade of the 19th century, the French Empire under Napoleon engaged in a series of conflicts—the Napoleonic Wars—involving every major European power. After a streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe, and Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances and the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French client states.
The French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in Napoleon’s fortunes. His Grande Armée was badly damaged in the campaign and never fully recovered. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at Leipzig; the following year the Coalition invaded France, forced Napoleon to abdicate and exiled him to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he escaped Elba and returned to power, but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life in confinement by the British on the island of Saint Helena. An autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer, though Sten Forshufvud and other scientists have since conjectured he was poisoned with arsenic.
Napoleon’s campaigns are studied at military academies throughout much of the world. While considered a tyrant by his opponents, he is also remembered for the establishment of the Napoleonic code, which laid the administrative and judicial foundations for much of Western Europe.
Sometimes called by the French name of ‘cire perdue’ or the Latin, ‘cera perduta’ is the process by which a bronze or brass is cast from an artist’s sculpture.In industrial uses, the modern process is called investment casting. An ancient practice, the process today varies from foundry to foundry, but the steps which are usually used in casting small bronze sculptures in a modern bronze foundry are generally quite standardised.
Lost Wax Method
sometimes called by the French name of cire perdue or the Latin, cera perduta is the process by which a bronze or brass is cast from an artists sculpture.
In industrial uses, the modern process is called investment casting. An ancient practice, the process today varies from foundry to foundry, but the steps which are usually used in casting small bronze sculptures in a modern bronze foundry are generally quite standardised.
Our reference: A3182