Count Alfred Émilien O'Hara van Nieuwerkerke Decorative Objects

Mantel garniture with clock and pair of candelabras in brown patinated bronze on Statuary marble and gilt bronze pedestals. Equestrian statue signed and dated : « E de Nieuwerkerke 1843 » on the base and bronze caster's mark « Susse Edt » Dimensions of the clock : H. 84 cm (33”1/16) x W. 46,5 cm (18”5/16) x D. 24,5 cm (9”11/16) Dimensions of the candelabras : H. 90,5 cm (35”5/8) x W. 25 cm (9”7/8) x D. 25 cm (9”7/8) At the “Salon des Artistes Français” in 1843, the young Count Alfred Emile de Nieuwerkerke (1811-1892), then aged 32, presented a plaster equestrian statue entitled William I, known as the Taciturn, Prince of Orange. A great nineteenth-century sculptor, Émile de Nieuwerkerke is best known for having been Head Director of the Museums since 1849, and probably the most influential man on cultural policy in France until the end of the Second Empire. Nieuwerkerke's fervor for art began when he became passionate for sculpture, at the age of 23, and took classes with the great James Pradier and Baron Carlo Marochetti. His connections allow him to realize official commissions, including the busts of the Empress Eugenie and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. The Count de Nieuwerkerke made a name for himself at the 1838 Salon with the exhibition of the group The Death of the Duke of Clarence that really launched his career. Having been a pupil of Carlo Marochetti, a sculptor of Italian origin, the young Nieuwerkerke can only be strongly impressed by the equestrian statue of the Monument to Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy created by the master between 1833 and 1838 and adorning the Piazza San Carlo of Turin in Italy. There is no doubt that this monumental statue...