Lot 99: A BRONZE MODEL OF GEORGE IV ON HORSEBACK

A BRONZE MODEL OF GEORGE IV ON HORSEBACK ATTRIBUTED TO EDWARD HODGES BAILY RA (1788-1867), CAST BY RUNDELL, BRIDGE & RUNDELL, CIRCA 1827 The King depicted as a Roman emperor seated on a rearing horse; on a rectangular naturalistic bronze plinth and a simulated marble polychrome wood base 27 in. (68.2 cm.) high; 32 1/8 in. (82.6 cm.) high, overall

(68.2 cm.) high

CIRCA 1827

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE: I. Roscoe et al., A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain 1660-1851, London, 2009, p. 60, no. 168.

Sir Francis Watson (1907 - 1992) Bequeathed by the above to the present owner.

The model for this bronze is thought to have been commissioned to celebrate George IV's victory over Napoleon, when he was Prince Regent. The current bronze is one of three known versions. One was supplied to the King by the court goldsmiths and jewellers Rundell, Bridge and Rundell in 1827 at a cost of £357, and is still in the Royal Collection today (inv. no. 20798), and was used by George IV as a centre piece when he was entertaining on a grand scale. Another version was given to Lady Conyngham by George IV and is in situ at Slane Castle, Ireland. Baily trained with the famous English sculptor John Flaxman and worked as designer and modeller for Rundell between 1815 and 1833. The model is probably linked to Sir Francis Chantrey's equestrian statue of George IV, which was originally designed to sit on top of the Marble Arch at the entrance to Buckingham Palace, but has been in Trafalgar Square ever since the King's death. Between 1827 and 1832 Baily was making commemorative sculpture for the Arch, where he would have been in close contact with Chantrey. It is possible that the current bronze was the result of a preliminary model Baily designed for a competition for the commission of the Marble Arch equestrian statue, that was later awarded to Chantrey.