Late 19th Century Bronze Bust of King Henry IV of France

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Description

On offer is a late 19th-century bronze bust of King Henri IV of France (Henry IV, 1553–1610), also known as … Read more On offer is a late 19th-century bronze bust of King Henri IV of France (Henry IV, 1553–1610), also known as "Good King Henry". It is secured atop a turned plinth column and a stepped square base. Small bronzes of French kings were specifically favored for upscale library decorations and domestic mantelpieces across Europe during the Revival periods of the late 1800s.

SITTER: The sculpture captures King Henry’s highly recognizable facial features, including his prominent, long aquiline nose, high bald forehead, thick curled hair at the back and sides and his distinctively styled beard and mustache. He is clad in late 16th to early 17th-century attire, featuring a wide turned-down collar overlapping armor or a stylized doublet with slashed, braided shoulders.

STYLE: Heavy, architectural and deeply structured, Renaissance Revival style favored classical symmetry, column-like shapes and prominent historical portrait busts such as this Henri IV piece. French foundries in the late 1800s went through a patriotic phase of recreating 16th-century heroes, kings, and court styles to bring a sense of royal history into grand 19th-century libraries and drawing rooms.

IDENTIFICATION: The handwritten tag on the wooden core underside (photo #7) reads "Henri IV, Kansler, Pouilly." "Henri IV" confirms the sitter. "Pouilly" refers to Pouilly-sous-Charlieu or a similar region in eastern France, pointing to its historical French context or regional dealership collection. Lastly, "Kansler", the Scandinavian/Germanic spelling for Chancellor, combined with the ink inventory tag suggests it passed through a Northern European collection or gallery during its lifespan.

MATERIALS: The bust is a hollow-cast patinated bronze. Likewise, both the turned plinth column and the stepped square base are made of patinated cast bronze, matching the bust itself.

STRUCTURE: The central threaded brass rod and square anchoring nut visible on the underside (photo #7) hold the three main components together: the bust, the turned fluted socle pedestal and the stepped square base. Looking directly at the bottom of the base, one can see the hollow metal edge wrapping around the internal wooden core block. This internal wood block acts as an anchor for the long metal structural rod running down the center of the sculpture.

Rather than leaving the bronze base completely hollow and unstable, 19th-century foundries frequently inserted a tight-fitting piece of dense wood inside the bottom. The central bolt and square brass washer screw down tightly into the wood, squeezing the bronze sections together. This adds weight and lowers the center of gravity, preventing the 12-inch-tall sculpture from easily tipping over (useful, in case you live in earthquake country).

Signature/Maker’s Mark: Nonexistent. Base dimensions: 3.5 inches deep x 3.5 inches wide. See less