PIERRE-JULES MÊNE
French, 1810-1879
Vainqueur du Derby
Signed and dated P.J. MENE 1863 and inscribed SC 1211.150/c.j a.a. on the base
Bronze with brown patina
Height 16½ inches (42 cm); Length 17 inches (43.2 cm); Depth 5½ inches (14 cm)
This model is one of Mêne's most popular works and is believed to represent the 1862 Derby Winner, Caractacus. Exhibited in wax at the Paris Salon of 1863, it appeared in bronze the following year. It was featured as no. 16 in Mêne's catalogue as Jockey à Cheval in two sizes (the present example being the larger of the two).
Provenance
Victor Franses Gallery, London
Estate of Francis A. Martin III, San Francisco (acquired from the above)
Literature
Michel Poletti and Alain Richarme, Pierre-Jules Mêne: Catalogue Raisonné de l'OeuvreSculpt é, Paris, 2007, p. 43, no. 30, for illustration of another example
$14,000