Concours agricole représentant un groupe de cochons en métal argenté par Christofle, Paris, vers 1870

modelé par Pierre Rouilliard (1820-1881), sur une base rectangulaire en marbre griotte montée en bronze doré

designed by Pierre Rouilliard (1820-1881), on a marble base with ormolu mounts



 

The French sculptor Pierre-Louis Rouillard (1820-1881), celebrated for his many studies of animals cast in a variety of materials, is probably best known for his 'Cheval à la herse,' a monumental iron sculpture of a rearing stallion, startled at the sight of an overturned plough. This piece was executed for the Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1878, when it was shown adjacent to the Trocadéro. It was subsequently moved to its present position by the Musée d'Orsay.
Rouillard collaborated with several famous architects of the day, including Jacques-Félix Duban (1798-1870), Hector-Martin Lefuel (1810-1880) and Jean-Antoine-Gabriel Davioud (1824-1881), producing work to adorn the Louvre, the Paris Opera and other public buildings. His massive bronze eagle of 1868 on the east façade of the latter is a notable example. So, too, is the equestrian statue of François de la Rochefoucauld which he created two years earlier for the château d'Esclimont.
Although the bulk of Rouillard's output was on a large scale, he produced a significant number of models of animals and related figures for Christofle, of which the present example is a variation of his 'La Porcherie,' shown at the Exposition Universelle, 1878.