AFTER GERMAIN PILON (1525-1590): A FRENCH BRONZE FIGURE GROUP OF THE THREE GRACES
Circa 1880
The three female figures in classical dress, upon a triform base, inscribed ‘Germain Pilon’ to the base, 59cm high
| Estimate: |
£500 - £700
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Hammer price:
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£900 |
Bidding ended. Lot has been sold.
The original sculpture of The Three Graces was carved in marble by the leading French Renaissance sculptor, Pilon, around 1560 to 1562. It was commissioned by Catherine de Medici as a monument to her husband, King Henri II, conceived with a bronze urn held above to contain the ashes of the late king.
The urn was destroyed during the French Revolution, later replaced, possibly after the Louvre acquired the sculpture in 1816. A plaster copy was made in 1862 and sold to the Victoria & Albert Museum, to be displayed in the Cast Courts, where it stands today.
There is no signature, just the inscribed base
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