Skip to main content

Bronze Animal Sculptures

7
to
1
3
3
7
7
7
294
157
117
93
51
40
13
12
10
9
8
7
4
4
3
1
1
2
3
2
2
1
Height
to
Width
to
7
2
2
2
6
6
1
1
1
1
1
Style: Louis XV
Material: Bronze
Pair French 19th/20th Century Gilt-Bronze Sculptures of The Marly Horses Lamps
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Fine Pair of French 19th/20th Century Gilt-Bronze Sculptures of "The Marly Horses" (Now turned into lamps) After the original by Guillaume Coustou (French, 1677-1746). The large pair of equestrian bronze sculptures, finished in a gold patina, each depicting rearing horses with their groom, both raised on oval a black slate and Bardiglio marble bases and fitted with modern electrical twin-light brass fittings and cream colored shades. The base on an ebonized wooden platform. Circa: Paris, 1900-1920. Sculpture & Base Height: 31 1/4 inches (79.8 cm) Base Width: 21 3/4 inches (55.3 cm) Base Depth: 12 3/4 inches (32.4 cm) Height to top of (Adjustable) shade fitting: 48 1/4 inches (122.6 cm) Shade Height: 15 inches (38.1 cm) Shade Width: 26 inches (66.1 cm) Shade Depth: 20 inches (50.8 cm) The original Marly Horses are two 1743–1745 Carrara marble sculpted groups by Guillaume Coustou. They were commissioned by Louis XV of France for the trough at the entrance to the grounds of his château de Marly. Coustou's last works, they were intended to replace two other sculpted groups, Mercury on Pegasus and Pegasus, Renown of Horses, both by Antoine Coysevox, which had been removed to the Tuileries Gardens in 1719. Louis XV chose the modellos in 1743 and the full-size sculptures were completed in only two years, being installed at Marly in 1745. They proved highly successful in reproduction, particularly on a smaller scale, and prefigured Théodore Géricault and other Romantic artists' obsession with equestrian subjects. The Marly horses were later also used as the central motif of the monochrome 819-line RTF/ORTF test card which was used on TF1 from 1953 until 1983. The originals were moved to the place de la Concorde in Paris in 1794 and Louis-Denis Caillouette (1790–1868) restored them in 1840. In 1984 it was concluded that the annual military parades on 14 July were damaging the sculptures and they were replaced by marble copies produced by Michel Bourbon in the studio of a subsidiary of Bouygues. The latter also gained the right to an extra copy, which was placed in Bouygues's social building. The original sculptures were moved to a former courtyard in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre Museum, which was renamed the 'cour Marly' in their honour, whilst Bourbon's two main copies were moved to the originals' first site near the trough at Marly, with work overseen by the architect Serge Macel. Guillaume Coustou the Elder (29 November 1677, Lyon – 22 February 1746, Paris) was a French sculptor of the Baroque and Louis XIV style. He was a royal sculptor for Louis XIV and Louis XV and became Director of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1735. He is best known for his monumental statues of horses made for the Chateau of Marly, whose replicas now stand in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Coustou was a member of a family of famous sculptors; his uncle, Antoine Coysevox, was a royal sculptor; his elder brother, Nicolas Coustou was a sculptor, and his son Guillaume Coustou the Younger also become a noted royal sculptor. Like his older brother, he won the (Prix de Rome) of the Royal Academy which entitled him to study for four years at the French Academy in Rome. However, he refused to accept the discipline of the academy, gave up his studies, set out to make his own career as an artist. He worked for a time in the atelier of the painter Pierre Legros, and eventually returned to Paris. Upon his return to Paris, he assisted his uncle Coysevox in making two monumental equestrian sculptures, Fame and Mercury, for the Château de Marly, the new residence of Louis XIV near the Palace of Versailles, where he went to escape the crowds and ceremony of the Palace. He later (1740–1745), made his own horses, The Horses of Marly, his most famous works, to replace them. The horses reinvent the theme of the colossal Roman marbles of the Horse Tamers in the Piazza Quirinale, Rome. They were commissioned by Louis XV in 1739 and installed in 1745 at the Abreuvoir ("Horse Trough") at Marly. The horses were considered masterpieces of the grace and expressiveness of the French Late Baroque or Rococo style. After the Revolution they were moved from Marly to the beginning of the Champs-Élysées on the Place de la Concorde. The originals were brought indoors for protection at the Louvre Museum in 1984. In 1704 Coustou was received into the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. The work he made to mark his entrance was Hercules on the Pyre, now in the Louvre. It displays the special hallmark of the Baroque, a twisting and rising transverse pose, as well as highly skillful carving. He rose to become Director of the academy in 1733. Another of his major works from his later career, the statue of Maria Leszczynska, (1731)is on display at the Louvre. Coustou also created two colossal monuments, The Ocean and the Mediterranean among other sculptures for the park at Marly; the bronze Rhone, which formed part of the statue of Louis XIV at Lyons, and the sculptures at the entrance of the Hôtel des Invalides. Of these latter, the bas-relief representing Louis XIV mounted and accompanied by Justice and Prudence was destroyed during the Revolution, but was restored in 1815 by Pierre Cartellier from Coustou's model; the bronze figures of Mars and Minerva (1733–34), on either side of the doorway, were not interfered with. In 1714 for Marly he collaborated in two marble sculptures representing Apollo Chasing Daphne (both at the Louvre), in which Nicolas Coustou sculpted the Apollo and Guillaume the Daphne. About the same time he was commissioned to produce another running figure in marble, a Hippomenes designed to complement an Atalanta copied from the Antique by Pierre Lepautre...
Category

Early 1900s French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Boar Bronze & Iron Chenet Andirons / Fireplace Decoration
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
A 19th century French bronze gilt boar head. The boar with inlaid Glass eyes. D'ore (Gilt) bronze chenets, cast with the figure of a boar head. Boar Bronze...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Iron

Bronze Sculpture by Guillaume Coustou
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Guillaume Coustou (1677 - 1746) "Le cheval de Marly", sculpture in bronze Measures: H: 57 cm W: 47 cm D: 22 cm.
Category

Mid-18th Century French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

1750 Circa, a Pair of Mounted Porcelain Karp Shaped Vases
Located in North Miami, FL
A pair of mounted porcelain Karp shaped vases. Gilt - Bronze Mounted Blue Enameled Stoneware, Chinese 18th Century, the Mounts are Louis XV, Circa 1750...
Category

Mid-18th Century Chinese Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Gold, Gold Leaf, Enamel, Bronze

Pair of Bronze Marly Horses on Boulle Style Marquetry Stands
Located in London, GB
Pair of bronze Marly horses on Boulle style marquetry stands French, late 19th century Measures: Total height 73cm Horses: Height 60cm, width 53...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze, Ormolu

Ormolu-Mounted Porcelain Horses by Samson Manufactory
Located in Paris, FR
Pair of 20th century white porcelain horses on clouds, above rocaille bases richly decorated with scrollwork and openwork foliage. Both figures are marked underneath with two crossed...
Category

Early 20th Century French Louis XV Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Ormolu, Bronze

Fine Pair of French 19th Century Marble and Gilt Bronze-Mounted Flambeaux Urns
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A fine pair of French 19th century Rouge-Royal marble and figural gilt bronze-mounted flambeaux urns surmounted with four ormolu figures of dolphins supporting the center urn with th...
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Related Items
Postmodern White Glazed Porcelain Glove Mold by Rosenthal
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made in Italy, 1970s. This mold is made in glazed porcelain. It was inspired by those ones designed by Gio Ponti for Ginori. This is a vintage piece, therefore it might show slight t...
Category

1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

19th Century Samson Paris Porcelain Trinket Box
Located in Dallas, TX
Presenting a gorgeous French 19th century Samson Paris Porcelain Trinket Box probably by Edme Samson. Marked on the base with “Made in France” and unmistakably in the style and manner of Samson. The lid features hand painted floral bouquets on an ivory porcelain background with gold edging, surrounded by a sky blue lid with gold web or crackling effect.. The lid is hinged and the lid and base are edged in floral gilt metal mounts with Fleur De Lis clasp. It sits on 4 gilt metal or ormolu feet. The sides are likewise hand decorated. This wonderful antique hand painted box is just bursting with History. Inspired by Edme Samson of Samson & Co., Paris. we believe (based upon the markings and natural aging) that it was made between 1880– 1890 in France and was meant to resemble an antique of a much earlier period. It is very similar to Sevres pieces with it’s color, decoration and design. Samson specialized in reproducing antiques from the 1600 and 1700s. One of his most interesting works was his Heraldic or Armorial pieces. With this medium sized box, he was not only copying the larger porcelain caskets or coffin boxes...
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Ormolu

19th Century French Bronze Sculpture
Located in Houston, TX
19th century French bronze sculpture of a Classical Greek. This meticulously executed antique French bronze sculpture is of a handsome male figure holdi...
Category

19th Century French Classical Greek Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

19th Century French Bronze Sculpture
19th Century French Bronze Sculpture
H 19.25 in W 6.63 in D 8.75 in
Early 20th century bronze equestrian horse sculpture.
Located in Allentown, PA
This is an early 20th century equestrian horse sculpture in bronze. This horse sculpture has a dark ebony bronze finish to the surface and stands on ...
Category

1920s American American Classical Vintage Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Fireplace Bronze Andirons with Amphoraes
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
Elegant pair of French andirons with bronze amphoraes. To be used also as bookends. ref. M/943.   
Category

Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Fireplace Bronze Andirons with Amphoraes
Fireplace Bronze Andirons with Amphoraes
H 10.63 in W 5.12 in D 17.33 in
Antique Cast Iron Owl Fireplace Andirons
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Very unique antique pair of cast iron andirons in the form of an owl with glass eyes. They are sitting on a perch. Original patina as acquired.
Category

Early 20th Century American Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Iron

Large Pair of 19th Century Bronze Marly Horses, after Coustou
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very impressive pair of 19th century bronze Marly horse, having a good patina, after Guillaume Coustou the elder 1677-1746.
Category

19th Century French Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Chinese Porcelain Nodding Sculpture of Court Ladies
Located in Austin, TX
A lovely pair of Chinese export porcelain figures of court ladies with nodding heads, late Qing Dynasty, circa 1900, China. The elegant ladies dressed in gorgeous traditional robes...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Large Antique Cast Iron English Lion and Unicorn Fireplace Andirons Tool Rests
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Victorian cast iron lion and unicorn painted black fireplace ornaments. They are symbols of the United Kingdom, the lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combination dates back to the 1603 accession of James I of England who was already James VI...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Iron

Italian Handmade Glazed Porcelain Two Horses Sculpture
Located in Vilnius, LT
Italian sculpture of Art Deco period in handmade glazed porcelain of two galloping horses.
Category

20th Century Italian Art Deco Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Italian Handmade Glazed Porcelain Two Horses Sculpture
Italian Handmade Glazed Porcelain Two Horses Sculpture
No Reserve
H 15.75 in W 20.87 in D 8.67 in
Porcelain Lamb by Willy Zügel for Rosenthal
Located in Roma, IT
Very nice classical vintage Rosenthal lamb porcelain figurine modeled by Willy Zügel. This irresistible animalier figure features a green underglaze Rosent...
Category

Late 20th Century German Country Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Italian Porcelain Set of 2 Figurines by Capodimonte
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
Beautiful set of 2 italian fine porcelain hand painting figurines by Capodimonte, circa 1990s. Brand present at the base. Two small defects, one of the boy's fingers and the girl's h...
Category

1990s Italian Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Previously Available Items
Bronze Sculptures of the Marley Horses after Guillaume Cousteau circa 1739, Pair
Located in Houston, TX
Patinated sculptures of rearing horses being retained by their trainers after Guillaume Cousteau, Paris, 1739.
Category

Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Porcelain Pug Dog on a Gilt Bronze Rococo Base after a Model by Johann Kaendler
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A fine Meissen pug dog after an 18th century model by Kaendler, on a gilt bronze rococo style base. This porcelain is likely one part of a set of two pugs,...
Category

Mid-18th Century German Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Monumental French Louis XV Style Bronze Lion Head Door Knocker
Located in Houston, TX
19th century monumental French bronze door knocker in the shape of a lion head in the style of Louis XV. The bronze has a nice patina consistent with age and use.
Category

19th Century French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Gilt Bronze Medici Lions
Located in London, by appointment only
A magnificent pair of large-scale cast bronze and gilt Medici lions, each with one paw raised on a ball. Cast in bronze and gilt, their heads turned so...
Category

Early 18th Century French Louis XV Antique Bronze Animal Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Gilt Bronze Medici Lions
Pair of Gilt Bronze Medici Lions
H 13.78 in W 15.75 in D 5.91 in

Recently Viewed

View All