Sachsische Porzellan Manufaktur Dresden (the Dresden factory)
23cm (9in) x 26cm (10in) x 15cm (6in)
Provenance: Lord Kalms (1931-2025).
The figure group of Napoleon and generals at the battle of Bautzen 21 May 1813, portraying a seated Napoleon studying a map the night before the battle, his bicorne on the ground, overseen Marshal Ney and attended by two Old Guard Foot Grenadiers.
The present group is a rare polychromed example from a series of scenes depicting key moments in the life of Napoleon. Other tableau in the series, first produced in 1930-3, represent - Napoleon at Grenoble, 1815; Napoleon in Camp at Austerlitz, 1805; Napoleon at Fontainebleau, 1814; Napoleon in Vienna, Farewell to Lannes ,1809; Napoleon at Montereau, 1814, and Napoleon at Friesland, 1807.
The Battle of Bautzen was fought on 20–21 May 1813. A combined Prusso-Russian army, retreating after their defeat at Lützen and massively outnumbered, was pushed back by Napoleon but escaped destruction. Some sources claim that Marshal Michel Ney failed to block their retreat. The Prussians were led by General Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, and the Russians by General Peter Wittgenstein.