German, circa 1300

The polychromy has been refreshed in areas. Some of these layers are unstable and are flaking. The polychromy to the torso is largely lost. The figure was carved in sections. Joints are slightly open at the shoulders, neck of the horse and the shin of the proper left leg. There are areas of restoration around the proper left wrist and the horn of the saddle. There are some losses due to worming particularly around the crown, tail and feet. The torso detaches from the rest of the object. Otherwise the condition is stable.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Gerard ‘Boy’ Lommen was an established Maastricht art dealer and one of the driving forces behind the Pictura art fair, which would later become TEFAF. For decades he supplied wonderful haute epoque works of art to an international clientele, including the world’s leading museums. Known as a most amiable man, he is fondly remembered at Sotheby’s for the enthusiasm with which he regarded art and shared his knowledge.

The equestrian statue was firmly reinstated as a symbol of power early in the Middle Ages. A bronze statuette of Charlemagne or Charles the Bald in the Louvre (inv. no. OA 8260) is dated back to the 9^th century whilst the monumental Magdeburg and Bamberg riders were both conceived in the 13^th century. In tandem with the development of the personal monument for rulers a less well understood type of royal rider appears. These kings are not specifically identifiable and are mostly out of context. Examples appear both in manuscripts, such as the frontally represented king on horseback holding an unusual type of sceptre in Ratsbücherei Lüneburg MS 4^o13, and in metalwork, such as the aquamanile with a crowned rider with raised arm from a private collection exhibited in Hildesheim in 2008 and there identified as a falconer (op.cit., no. 31). The present sculpture is an exceedingly rare survival of this type in wood, on a larger scale. It compares remarkably closely to the aquamaniles of the same subject and is therefore likely to have been carved in northern Germany.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Luckhardt and F. Niehoff (eds.), Heinrich der Löwe und seine Zeit. Herrschaft und Repräsentation der Welfen 1125-1235, exh.cat. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, 1995, vol. 1, pp. 610-612, no. G 108; M. Brandt (ed.), Bild und Bestie. Hildesheimer Bronzen der Stauferzeit, exh. cat. Dom-Museum Hildesheim, Ann Arbor, 2008, no. 31