JOHANN DOMINIK MAHLKNECHT (DIT DOMINIQUE MOLCHNEHT) (1793-1876)

Following the restauration of the French monarchy Dominique Mahlknecht was commissioned to produce a series of sculptures in celebration of the Bourbon dynasty, under the patronage of Louis XVI's daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, Duchess of Angoulême. This model, depicting the Duchess's nephew, was one such sculpture and whilst a number of reductions are known, it is rare on this scale with another version, in patinated bronze, held in the collections of the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, which is recorded as having been exhibited at the Exhibition of Fine Arts and Industrial Products, Toulouse, 1829, no. 214.

Henri-Charles-Ferdinand-Marie Dieudonné D’artois, Duc de Bordeaux, later Count De Chambord (1820 - 1883), was the senior claimant to the French throne following and was named as heir on the abdication of his grandfather Charles X in 1830, briefly holding the crown before being usurped by Louis Philippe who would serve as king until 1848.

A closely related model of the same subject in similar pose but this time with a globe, pedestal and trophies in place of the stump used here was issued in biscuit porcelain by the Sevres manufactory in 1827.