View full screen - View 1 of Lot 18. Suffolk Punch Stallion Horse Head.
18

Herbert Haseltine

Suffolk Punch Stallion Horse Head

17

18

19

Herbert Haseltine

Herbert Haseltine

Suffolk Punch Stallion Horse Head

Suffolk Punch Stallion Horse Head

Herbert Haseltine

American

1877 - 1962

Suffolk Punch Stallion Horse Head


inscribed: © HASELTiNE. / MCMXXV-VI

bronze, reddish brown and gilt patina, on an ebonised wood base

with a metal plaque to the underside of the base inscribed: Suffolk Punch Stallion / From the Statuette in The Luxembourg / Presented to Theodore Cook by / The Sculptor Herbert Haseltine, 1927

bronze: 27 by 28cm., 10⅝ by 11in.

36.5 by 30cm., 14 3/8 by 11¾in. overall

Overall in very good condition with minor surface wear and dirt consistent with age.


The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.

Private Collection, UK
Salisbury, Messum’s Wiltshire, Art in Motion: The Spirit of the Horse, 2017
In 1922 Herbert Haseltine began the project which was to become his most distinctive sculptural legacy - his series of 26 British Champion Animals. Inspired by the simplified and stylised forms of Egyptian sculpture, Haseltine set out to distil the essential characteristics of each breed, using prize-winning subjects. For the series Haseltine travelled extensively across Britain, sketching and modelling from life and subsequently finishing the models in his Paris studio.

Sudbourne Premier, foaled 1919, belonged to Percy C. Vestry of Eastham Park, Wickham Market. At a time when British achievements in Animal Husbandry were unparalleled, Sudbourne Premier attained no fewer than seven first class showings at Royal Agricultural shows. Haseltine described his encounter with the great Suffolk Punch stallion: "Sudbourne Premier was at his best: he stretched his neck and champed his bit, looking intelligently to right and left, showing a little of the whites of his eyes, which gave more life and expression to his already expressive and classical head."

This bronze head represents a detail, first modelled circa 1922, of the original one-third lifesize full figure of Suffolk Punch Stallion. Haseltine's highly stylised depiction, though distanced from naturalism, retains a vivid quality due to the flickering attention of the eyes. The careful gilding and patination of the bronze, mimicking the horse’s chestnut coat, imbues it with a jewel-like quality.

RELATED LITERATURE
American Sculpture 1845-1925, Conner-Rosencranz, New York, 1999, pp. 42-43; T. Tolles, American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2001, vol. II, pp. 613-614, no. 282