Fine quality 19thc French Grand Tour bronze 'Borghese Gladiator'

A fine quality late 19th century (circa 1880) French Grand Tour bronze figure of the ‘Borghese Gladiator’ after the Hellenistic original marble sculpture.

This figure consists of a male nude warrior rather than a Gladiator, thought to be in combat with a warrior on horseback, he stands leaning forward with his right leg, his left arm outstretched in front of him with his left leg stretched out behind him, the tree trunk having a signature in Greek translating to ‘Agasias son of the Dositheus, Ephesus’ with the Collas reduction stamp.

The original marble sculpture dating from c 100BC and carved by the sculptor Agasias of Ephesus is believed to be a copy of an earlier statue, it was first recorded in 1611 whilst undergoing restoration in Italy, once in the collection of the Borghese family where the figure gained its name and remaining in the Borghese collection until being sold with other items from the collection in 1807 to Napoleon Bonaparte, the sculpture now being in the Louvre in Paris.

Other known copies of the statue include a bronze cast by the sculptor Hubert le Sueur in 1629-30 for Charles I, now in the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle and another bronze cast in 1645 produced for the gardens at Wilton, now at Houghton Hall in the main stair well.

Although this figure is still widely known as a ‘Gladiator’ by the early 18th century many commentators were suggesting the figure was that of a warrior, some examples of the figure hold a shield and sword although the original marble sculpture had neither of these so ours is in the form of the original.

Although a foundry stamp for Barbedienne is not evident on this bronze, there is no doubt it was  produced by a good foundry and also having the ‘Collas’ reduction stamp indicates it was most probably produced by Barbedienne.

The Barbedienne foundry was set up in 1838 by Ferdinand Barbedienne and Achille Collas, Collas invented a machine to create smaller bronze figures from statues of Greek & Roman origin in particular, of which this bronze is an example of. This foundry produced many fine pieces over the years and worked closely with many artists, two of the most famous being Barye and Rodin.

This bronze figure is in excellent condition for age, and can go straight into a home or collection.

Size:

Height: 14.25'' / 36.25cm

Width: 10.25'' / 26cm

Depth: 6.5'' / 16.5cm