Lot 581: Auguste Paris (French, 1850-1915): A patinated bronze of Sergent Bobillot

Auguste Paris (French, 1850-1915): A patinated bronze of Sergent Bobillot
the soldier in defiant pose holding his rifle and standing on a square base cast with a cannon barrel and discarded weaponry, the side signed AUGUSTE PARIS, the front with applied presentation plaque inscribed SERGENT BOBILLOT PAR AUG. PARIS HORS CONCOURS 60cm high

Sergeant Bobillot was a celebrated French soldier who was victim of the Black Flags during the siege of Tuyen Quang in 1885. His death was commemorated with the erection of a statue which was located on the boulevard Richard Lenoir although this disappeared during the Second World War. Further statues were erected in other French cities and towns including Beziers, Cannes, Courbevoie, Angers, Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), Nancy, Toulouse and Tours.