Lot number 3440 - Auction 160
'FRANZ I. VON FRANKREICH ZU PFERDE'

HENRI HONORÉ PLÉ 1853 Paris - 1922 Paris 'FRANCIS I OF FRANCE ON HORSEBACK' Bronze with gold patina, on an oval plinth. H. 30, W. 28, D. 12 cm; weight approx. 4.24 kg. Unsigned; comparable version by Henri Honoré Plé. Fully modeled depiction of a nobleman on horseback, dressed in Renaissance-style historical costume. The rider wears elaborately detailed attire and headgear; the horse is depicted in a leaping pose. In comparable examples, this historical equestrian figure of a magnificently dressed nobleman is sometimes identified as Francis I of France or Henry VIII. Shows signs of rubbing and loss of patina in places.