Based On Thorvaldsen’s Work, A Large And Beautiful Walnut Sculpture Depicting The Lion Of Lucerne

According to Thorvaldsen, a large and beautiful walnut sculpture depicting the Lion of Lucerne, a monument erected in the Swiss city to commemorate the officers and hundreds of soldiers of the Swiss Guard regiment who died in 1792 in the service of King Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI, when, on August 10, the revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
Of the 800 to 900 guards present at the palace, 300 were killed on the spot, either during the fighting or after their surrender. Another 200 died in prison from their wounds or were killed during the September Massacres. As for Major Karl Josef von Bachmann, who commanded the Guard on August 10, he was tried on September 2 and guillotined the following day, September 3, while wearing his red uniform coat.
It is this bloody episode that the inscription engraved on the base of our statue commemorates: “HELVETIORUM FIDEI AC VIRTUTI” (“To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss”), a dedication that appears on the base of the Lucerne memorial itself, and which is supplemented here by: “DIES X AUGUSTI II et III SEPTEMBRIS MDCCXCII” (“August 10, September 2 and 3, 1792”), recalling both the fate of the Swiss Guard and that of Major Karl Joseph von Bachmann.
As for the lion, an allegory of the Swiss who shed their blood to defend the French monarchy, it is depicted dying, pierced by a broken spear, covering with its right paw a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy, while another shield beside it bears the coat of arms of Switzerland.
A beautiful and large walnut wood sculpture, particularly intricate and detailed, by P. Linder (signed to the right of the base), about whom I have been unable to find any information.
Warm patina.
19th-century period.
Good overall condition. A few minor wormholes.
Width: 52.5 cm; depth: 16 cm; height: 23 cm.