The model of the boar is based on the ‘Florentine Boar’, the ancient Roman sculpture held in the Uffizi Galleries that became famous in the 17th century when it was copied by Pietro Tacca for Cosimo II de Medici. [1] The hound resembles a Braque français, a pointer often depicted in works by Jacques Charles Oudry.
The Wild Boar, 2nd -1st century B.C. , The Uffizi, Florence
These large models are unusual in having a tin glaze which is more typically associated with earlier pieces from the Villeroy period, suggesting that these were made in the very first years of the Mennecy factory.
We have only been able to find two other examples of this model. Another coloured pair was sold at Aguttes auction, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, on 16 September 2018, lot 179. The other pair has been left white and is in La Cité de la Céramique: Musée National de Sèvres (inv. MNC25228 et MNC26340).
Condition:
The dog in good condition, some misfiring of the black enamel.
The boar seems to have been broken off the base, and restuck there is associated damage and restoration to the tail. There is also restoration to the top half of the left ear.
References:
Haskell & Penny 1981
Francis Haskell and Nicholass Penny, Taste and the Antique: The lure of classical sculpture, 1500-1900, (Yale University Press, 1981)
[1] For a discussion on the model, see Taste and the Antique, by Francis Haskell & Nicholas Penny, p. 161, number 13 ‘The Wild Boar’
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