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Sevres bust of Napoleon, modelled by Chaudet 1807
Sèvres biscuit porcelain bust of Napoleon I, dated 1807, after Antoine-Denis Chaudet’s model and bearing impressed and incised marks.
Description
A Sevres biscuit bust of Napoleon, dated 1807. Of the second size, after the model by Antoine-Denis Chaudet, inscribed NAPOLÉON and signed Chaudet to the side,, the bust: 29.5cm high, impressed SEVRES mark to front, incised A.B.12.R.8 L and n°2
(small chips and firing crack)
History & Context
In 1804 the Sevres manufactory director Alexandre Brongniart signed an agreement with A.-D. Chaudet (1763 – 1810) that the sculptor was to deliver a plaster bust of Napoleon, from which the factory was able to "to take as many molds and casts in porcelain (...) as required" (quoted in T. Préaud, The Sevres Porcelain Manufactory. The new model replaced earlier busts of Napoleon as a general and first consul by Louis-Simon Boizot. Napoleon liked this depiction of himself in the guise of a Roman emperor. The manufactory introduced the model in two sizes and included it in various diplomatic gifts. See T. Préaud (1997), pp.345-346 for an example of the first size and a full discussion of the model.
Marks & Inscriptions
SEVRES mark to front, incised A.B.12.R.8 L and n°2
Bibliography
Alexander Brongniart and the Triumph of Art and Industry 1800-1847 (1997), pp. 345, no. 137)