A French articulated artist's model of a horse and rider circa 1880

walnut, articulated throughout, the horse's neck formed of leather; on the original, adjustable stand of iron and wood base; the rider stamped with maker's mark inscribed MAQUETTE FRANÇAISE SUR AMATURE ARTICULÉE PARIS, B

Private Collection, United Kingdom (by circa 1960)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

This mannequin is in good overall condition. Wear, nicks and minor scratches to the surface and edges consistent with use and age, with surface dirt visible. Evidence of glued repairs and two breaks to the coiled leather neck form, a repaired break in the inside front leg of the horse, and restored breaks with associated infill in rider's left shoulder, both feet, and neck. Some joints loose with minor oxidation to metal elements.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Wooden mannequins have been an ever-present element in artist’s studios since at least the Renaissance, found in the ateliers of Michelangelo, Titian, Gustave Courbet and Alfred James Munnings among countless others. These obliging and indefatigable models were used to study the figure, and in the present lot a rider and her horse with its skeleton and musculature abstracted into geometric forms. By the end of the eighteenth-century, demand from artists for accurately proportioned and fully articulating figures was so great that mannequin–makers went to ingenious and extraordinary lengths in order to engineer objects that are works of art in themselves.
By the nineteenth-century, Paris was home to the leading ateliers producing the most elaborate and lifelike mannequins articulés. Built with hardwood, it has been beautifully hand-planed and defines the musculature of the body, and an ingenious accordion of leather has been used to render the more pliable form of the horse’s neck.