
John Sandon
Consultant
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Consultant
This goblet depicts Marshal Poniatowski during the retreat of the French army at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, during which he died. The goblet was probably made to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his death.
Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski, the nephew of the last King of Poland Stanisław II Augustus, was a Polish general and later a Marshal of the French Empire. He was born and raised in Vienna but considered himself a Polish citizen, due to his close relationship with his uncle. After a number of years in the Austrian imperial army and various military and political campaigns in the Polish army, he eventually became Commander of the Polish branch of the French army under Napoleon I, whom he served loyally throughout the Russian campaign of 1812. During the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813 Poniatowski's arm was injured and Napoleon awarded him the rank of Maréchal d'Empire. The French army was defeated and started retreating on 19 October. In charge of the rear guard of the retreat, Prince Poniatowski died trying to cross the Weiße Elster river that same day. His remains were moved to Poland in 1817 and buried in Wawel cathedral in Kraków.
A further equestrian portrait goblet by August Böhm engraved with Poniatowski alongside General Kosciuszko was in the Klaus Biemann Collection, sold in these rooms 26 November 2014, lot 67.