(Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin) | Bronze celebrating "a true and sincere Friendship..."

(Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin)

Bronze statue on a marble and bronze base. France: early nineteenth century

Bronze statue (225 x 260 x 105 mm) on a marble and bronze base (entire, 390 x 270 x 105 mm); a few marks and small areas of oxidation, table portion slightly shaky on base.

A rare bronze celebrating the Treaties of Amity and Commerce and of Alliance in 1778, which recognized American independence and guaranteed the right to trade between America and France without British interference.

On 6 February 1778, Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin signed two treaties, recognizing a new relationship between the two nations of commercial trade and mutual defense: "There shall be a firm, inviolable and universal Peace, and a true and sincere Friendship between the most Christian King, his Heirs and Successors, and the United States of America."

Hoping to secure French support in the colonists' war for independence, Franklin arrived to Paris in late 1776—the first official representative of the United States in the country. However, the young French king, then just twenty-two years old, was skeptical of the young nation's odds of success and thus fearful of openly supporting its bid against the British crown. Franklin, then in his 70s, waited for a convincing victory; in late 1777, the Battle of Saratoga was the turning point, convincing France to ally with the fledgling nation at war, and the treaties of February 1778 were soon to follow.

The present lot captures the American diplomat's impact in convincing France to stand alongside the United States. Notably, in contrast to Louis XVI's elegant royal costume, Franklin is dressed in plain clothes, reflecting French perception of the figure's humility. The bronze is after the original marble by Charles-Gabriel Sauvage (Lemire). While there are several extant examples of the porcelain version, including one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and another in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the U.S. Department of State, this bronze appears to be unrecorded elsewhere.

REFERENCES

Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Figure of Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin," 83.2.260; Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vol. XX, November 1925, p. 271–273

PROVENANCE

A notable Adelaide private collection (sale, Artvisory, 26 June 2024, lot 8)