A BRONZE GROUP OF ADONIS RESTING AFTER THE HUNT

The bronze Adonis offered here is a reduced version of Nicolas Coustou's signed and dated marble executed in 1710 for the gardens of the Chateau of Marly and now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. The method of casting, patination and surface finish all point to a casting date sometime in the first half of the 18th century.

Although Coustou was a prolific sculptor working for the Batiments du Roi, as well as private patrons, his greatest attention was dedicated to the park of the Chateau of Marly. As well as the numerous decorative carvings Coustou executed for these gardens he also carved the great marble group of The Seine and The Marne (now in the Jardins des Tuileries, Paris), two marble groups of Meleager Slaying a Stag and Meleager Slaying a Boar (in situ), the seated Adonis upon which the present bronze is based, and two further marble figures of nymphs (Musée du Louvre, Paris). All these works for Marly had central to their theme a bucolic charm that was intended to epitomise the informal spirit of the park.