Very impressive c. 1870 gilded bronze model of Trajan's Column, Rome

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Very impressive c. 1870 gilded bronze model of Trajan's Column, Rome

About the Item

Gilded Bronze and Marble Model of Trajan's Column, Rome, 33' H, circa 1870, probably Freres LeBlanc. By the 1810s, the Roman foundry operated by Wilhelm Hopfgarten and Benjamin Jollage had become known (both by well-to-do Grand Tourists and Vatican and other State officials) for their remarkably-detailed, high quality gilded bronze models of several of the Eternal City’s best-known ancient monuments, especially their replica of Trajan’s Column. Hopfgarten and Jollage, Prussian émigrés, established a variety of conventions with these fancy souvenirs, which were later copied by others. Among these was that the antique monuments were shown as they had appeared in antiquity, rather than as they were seen c. 1815. In the case of Trajan’s Column, this meant that the Prussians’ luxe models were surmounted by figures of Trajan (present atop this monument from c. 100 AD through to the Middle Ages) rather than the current day St. Peter (a relative newcomer to the perch, selling in in 1587). Despite this model’s lavish finish and remarkable detail, both of which closely mirror Hopfgarten and Jollage’s work, it was made, not in Rome, but in Paris, not in the 1810s, but, probably, circa 1870. We’ve another, very nearly identical model on which, cast into the surfaces of some of its parts, visible only upon disassembling, is the maker’s name - Leblanc Freres. In this period, the Freres also produced, of course, a range of Parisian souvenir architectural models, including the Luxor Obelisk, Arc de Triomphe, and, especially, Colonne Vendome. Interestingly, the Freres’ making of an out-of-town monument parallels the efforts of certain London-based souvenir sellers in the 1820s and 1830s, who not only offered models of specific Egyptian obelisks, but imported (from Italy) select Roman and Pisan architectural models. Thus, one could collect souvenirs of the Grand Tour without ever leaving home. This French model of Trajan’s Column is wonderfully precise. The spiraling decoration of the shaft accurately reproduces that on the monument, which is a recounting of Rome’s victory over the Dacians under the leadership of Trajan. Visible through a magnifying glass is every Roman legionnaire, fortification, horse, and prisoner. At the base, the detail is even more exacting, portraying the highly complex reliefs of military trophies, as well as a line of Latin above the entrance, chiseled into the bronze, matching the text see yet today. As the base’s four corners, the talons of Roman imperial eagles grasp the ends of decorative swags reaching around all four sides – a detail rarely seen. A very similar model Trajan's Column, though not gilded, sold in Sotheby's London May 2012 Sale (Lot 78) for 51,650 GBP, approximately $80,000. Figure is replaced with one cast from another Trajan's Column.

Creator:
Leblanc Frères 1 (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 33 in (83.82 cm)Width: 9 in (22.86 cm)Depth: 9 in (22.86 cm)
Style:
Grand Tour (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Marble,Gilt,Polished
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Mid-19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1870
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. The figure atop the model has been replaced with figure molded from a Hopfgarten and Jollage model.
Seller Location:
Lafayette, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU114324347973