Old Master Sculpture & Early Jewels
Old Master Sculpture & Early Jewels
Property from a British Private Collection
Probably French, late 17th century
Apollo playing his lyre
Lot Closed
July 5, 02:46 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a British Private Collection
Probably French, late 17th century
Apollo playing his lyre
white marble, on a painted wood pedestal
marble: 98cm., 38½in.
pedestal: 94 by 51 by 35cm., 37 by 20 by 13¾in.
possibly acquired by Charles Edward Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester, Kimbolton Castle (circa 1662-1722);
thence by descent to Alexander Montagu, 10th Duke of Manchester, Kimbolton Castle (1902-1977);
his sale, Frank & Rutley, Huntingdonshire, 20 July 1949, lot 778;
acquired by Professor Sir Albert Richardson P.R.A. (1880-1964), Avenue House, Ampthill;
by whose heirs sold, Christie's, London, 18-19 September 2013, lot 142
This elegant sculpture of Apollo with his lyre is reminiscent of the garden statuary of the Palace of Versailles, much of which centred around imagery associated with Apollo, on whom Louis XIV sought to model himself as 'The Sun King'. The composition with leg raised and the lyre resting on the thigh recalls Jean-Baptiste Tuby's celebrated La Poème lyriqye in the gardens of Versailles (1675-1680; inv. no. 1850.9076). The present sculpture was originally in the collections of the Dukes of Manchester at Kimbolton Castle. Charles Edward Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester, was Ambassador to France between 1698 and 1701; it is plausible that the present statue entered the Manchester collection at this time. Professor Sir Albert Richardson, a subsequent owner, was a celebrated architect, who, amongst his many works sensitively remodelled Woburn Abbey; he was President of the Royal Academy of Arts, editor of the Architects' Journal, and a founding member of the Georgian Group.
RELATED LITERATURE
F. Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th Centuries: The Reign of Louis XIV, vol. 1: A-F, Oxford, 1977, p. 345, no. 41