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Lawrence Gahagan (Irish fl 1800-1835), 'Bonaparte's Horses' Watercolour and pencil, 1817 These two elaborately coiffed horses are an extremely rare and picturesque relic of 'Boneymania' and graphic evidence that the British obsession with 'Royalty', notoriety and celebrity is nothing new.The sketch, by Lawrence Gahagan - scion of the famous Irish sculpting dynasty - is entitled 'Bonaparte's Horses' and accompanied by a note stating that the headgear worn by the two horses had been designed for Napoleon's coronation and his wedding to Maria Louisa. The confusing fact for students of Napoleonic history is that the date attached to Gahagan's name on the sketch - 1817 - thirteen years after Boney's coronation and long after his wedding. This apparently mystifying discrepancy can be explained by a possible link between the Sebastian Gahagan and the legendary Georgian museum impressario, William Bullock, who opened the first London Museum in Piccadilly in the Regency Period. Calling it the Egyptian Halls, he commissioned society sculptor Sebastian Gahagan to design the busts of Isis and Osiris that decorated its front elevation. In 1816, Bullock had created a sensation by importing Napoleon's carriage - complete with horses - and setting it up in the museum. Londoners flocked to the exhibition - a stunt that earned Bullock the princely sum of £35,000. We believe that these charming sketches might have been Bullock trying for an even more spectacular follow-up: from 'Napoleon's Carriage' to 'Napoleon's Marriage'. |
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