Estate / Collection: The Dalva Brothers Collection

Circa 1792

The politician and orator modeled three-quarters with upward gaze, wearing a wig, chemise, jacket and classically draped cloak, truncated at the shoulder on a circular socle, the glazed porcelain circular base inscribed in gilt, ‘Le combatteria les factieux de tous les parties.’ (I will fight sedition of every party) above ‘Honoré-Ricquetti-Mirabeau.’, the reverse incised in script Manufacture Du 56 fb St. Denis, No. 25, indistinct gilded mark, perhaps BD.

Height of bust 13 1⁄4 inches (33.6 cm), height of base 3 ¼ inches (8.2 cm)

Mme. Piazza-Chaigneau, New York, American Art Galleries, 29 January 1932, lot 8.

For an extensive discussion, see Régine de Plinval de Guillebon, Les Biscuit de Porcelaine de Paris, XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, Dijon, 2012, pp. 68-69 and 240-241.

A gifted orator and statesman, Mirabeau (1749-1791) played a pivotal role in the early stages of the French Revolution. Contrary to the outcome, as leader of the National Assembly, he advocated for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic. This bust is remarkable for its dramatic pose and the realistic description of Mirabeau's face, scarred by smallpox. The porcelain factory on the Faubourg Saint-Denis, founded in 1771 by Pierre-Antoine Hannong, came under the protection of the Count d’Artois in 1779. In 1798, the manufactory was acquired by Marc Schoelcher.

Also note, there are closely related versions of the model produced under the direction of Josse-François-Joseph Le Riche, head of the sculpture studio at Sèvres from 1780-1806. For an alternate Saint Denis bust of Maribeau on a similar base, see Christie’s, South Kensington, 30 November 2008, lot 141; and for a nearly identical unmarked example, with variant inscription, see the Musée Carnavalet, accession no. C1446.