CHAUDET, attributed to : - Lot 99

CHAUDET, attributed to : Large "ship's eagle", in chased and patinated medal-colored bronze; it holds the spindle in its right claw, resting on the casing marked in gilded letters on the front: "LE TONNANT", the casing rests on an ogive decorated with leaves, a double cordage and ovals, at its base another double cordage. It rests on a column of dark green veined marble, 98 mm in diameter and finished with a bead, below which are two square slabs of veined marble, the first of which is chamfered by a quarter-round, then a patinated bronze slab of the same size completes the ensemble. Height of the eagle alone 31 cm, wingspan 36 cm. Total height of eagle with box 46.8 cm. Total height with base 66.5 cm. An engraving depicting Le Tonnant, built under Louis XVI, at the battle of Aboukir on August 1, 1798. First Empire period. Very good condition. PROVENANCE: Raoul and Jean Brunon collection. This eagle is one of two known in France, along with the L'ocean eagle from the former Noisier collection. There may be a third, unattributed eagle, probably abroad, which has not been located. Our eagle comes from the Raoul and Jean Brunon collection, and was exhibited for many years at the Musée de l'Empéri, from which it was removed in the 2000s, as a small part of the objects were exhibited privately and belonged to Jean Brunon's children, including this eagle. We have no information on the execution of these large ship's eagles, but they were probably made at the beginning of the First Empire, as a prototype for a ship's mast, for a large flag or a very strong flagpole. These eagles would have been difficult to use in combat, on a ship, due to their size, and their cost would have been very high; the project had to be abandoned and they probably ended up in the office of a Minister of the Navy, a senior naval official or in an arsenal, before ending up, at the beginning of the 20th century, in two major collections; that of L'Ocean at André Levi and that of Le Tonnant in the Raoul and Jean Brunon collection. In an old issue of Neptunia (n°74, 2nd quarter 1964), there was an article written by Jean BRUNON (pages 26 and 27) entitled: "Les aigles de la marine sous le Premier-Empire", one of whose chapters was entitled: "Les grandes aigles de vaisseaux": "Un dernier probleme nous est proposé avec l'existence de deux aigles, egalement en bronze, oeuvres d'art de la plus haute qualite, certainement de meme attribuables au sculpteur CHAUDET. These eagles are much larger than those adopted in 1804 for the flags. Both are 31 cm high, plus the box, plus the papyrus-shaped base adorned with a race of Empire-style ovals, separated and terminated by coiled ropes. The movement of the wings differs slightly from that of the 1804 eagle's flag wings; the Jupiter spindle held by the right-hand clamp is similarly devoid of lightning bolts. These eagles are clearly inspired by the type adopted in 1804, executed by CHAUDET and THOMIRE. The inscription "L'Océan" appears on the face of the first eagle, which is fully gilded. The pedestal, which follows the caisson, was later mounted on a green marble base. The second eagle bears the inscription: Le Tonnant, still on the face of the caisson, the shape of the letters is different. On this eagle, only the letters are gilded. Identical at first glance, close examination reveals very slight variations between these two eagles: in the beak, in the tongue and in the plumage of the head; in addition, the first eagle is set at a slight angle on the casing. L'Océan's eagle remained in the Andre LEVI collection for a long time: we lost track of it after 1945. Accompanied by a scale model of these buildings, the eagle bearing the name Le Tonnant was sold by a Toulouse antique dealer 35 years ago. Unfortunately, the model of the building was purchased before we had any knowledge of this beautiful ensemble, and we were only able to acquire the eagle without being able to obtain original information that might have been decisive for its identification and, consequently, that of the L'Océan eagle. What could have been the destination of these magnificent eagles? Do other specimens exist? So far, our search has been in vain. Signed: "Jean et Raoul BRUNON". Article written by Mr. Pierre CHARRIÉ, in the following issue of Neptunia (n°75, 3rd quarter 1964), whose research provides details of the greatest historical interest: "In studying the archives of the navy, we have found no other trace of ship's flags. It is therefore infinitely probable