Antique Napoleonic War Trench Art Hand Carved Bone Dead Lion Lucerne Sculpture
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:84106 |
This auction is for an antiquenapoleonic wars trench art hand-carved cow bone sculpture of the famous dying Lionof Lucerne in France featuring extremely fine details in the mournfulface, claws, full mane and spike through the back. Size: 1.5 inches long.It commemorates the Swiss Guards whowere massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionariesstormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Mark Twain praised the sculptureof the mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and m...oving pieceof stone in the world."The initiative to create themonument was taken by Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen, an officer of the Guards whohad been on leave in Lucerne at that time of the fight. He began collectingmoney in 1818. The monument was designed by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn, in a former sandstone quarry near Lucerne.Carved into the cliff face, the monument measures ten metres in length and sixmetres in height.The monument is dedicated HelvetiorumFidei ac Virtuti ("To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss"). Thedying lion is portrayed impaled by a spear, covering a shield bearing thefleur-de-lis of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing thecoat of arms of Switzerland. The inscription below the sculpture lists thenames of the officers and gives the approximate numbers of soldiers who died(DCCLX = 760), and survived (CCCL = 350).
