Evgeny Lanceray (1884-1886), A Monumental Russian Bronze Group: Arabic Horse Games

excellent condition and patina; with some small repairs (to reins and one rifle)
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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After returning from a trip to Algeria in 1883, Lanceray wrote to his friend Vyacheslav Rossolovskii that he had just finished sketching a design for a "Grand Arab Fantasia" that would include several of the wealthy Northern African horsemen he had observed during his travels. The final composition, "Arabic Horse Games," was of monumental proportions and achieved worldwide fame within only a few brief years after Lanceray's death. In the United States, for example, the influential critic Clarence Cook reproduced the composition over a full page in Harper's, one of the most widely read publications of the times. (See “Russian Bronzes,” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine vol. 78, January 1889, p. 281). On this design, see G.W. Sudbury, Evgueni Alexandrovitch Lanceray, 1848-1886, Lausanne, 2006, pp. 159-160.