Bust Of Henry IV In Sèvres Biscuit Porcelain – Louis XVIII Period (dated 1823)

BUST OF HENRY IV IN HARD PORCELAIN BISCUIT – ROYAL MANUFACTORY OF SÈVRES – MARKED BY ALEXANDRE BRACHARD – 1823 – LOUIS XVIII PERIOD


Rare bust of HENRY IV (1553–1610), King of France and Navarre, in hard bisque porcelain from the Royal Manufactory of Sèvres, created during the Restoration, under the reign of Louis XVIII.

The sovereign is depicted as a bust, his head crowned with a laurel wreath, wearing the beard characteristic of his iconography, and clad in a richly ornamented breastplate over which a flowing drapery is draped.

The biscuit rests on its original porcelain pedestal with a deep blue background, enhanced by prominent gilded moldings and fillets, and topped by a quadrangular base with blue panels framed in gold.

Mark(s): On the back of the bust: An incised inscription on the reverse of the bisque, “A B,” attributable to Alexandre BRACHARD (1775–1843), a sculptor and restorer at the Sèvres Manufactory, and dated 1823
On the reverse of the pedestal: A blue-painted mark featuring a double “L” with the inscription “Sèvres,” accompanied by the fleur-de-lis and the date.
Dimensions: Height 17.5 cm - Length 8 cm - Depth 6 cm - Base 6 x 6 cm,
Condition: VERY GOOD CONDITION - Just a tiny chip repaired at the lower edge of the base - Repair invisible to the naked eye,
Period: EARLY 19TH CENTURY - LOUIS XVIII (Dated 1823),

This depiction of Henry IV fits perfectly into the political context of the Restoration, a period during which the Bourbon monarchy particularly revived the image of the first Bourbon king.