Pair of prancing horse andirons in patinated bronze and gilt bronze (gilding and patina redone at a later date), the front ones resting on a shield decorated with palms and shells (the shield supports redone), the saddle cloth imitating embroidery and passementerie, resting on a base decorated with a mask of Boreas, foliage, shells and scrolls; with irons. Regency period, circa 1720. H : 41 cm, W : 24 cm, D : 16 cm Several pairs of andirons with prancing horses are listed from the 18th century, some of them delivered outside France. In this respect, it is interesting to mention a pair of andirons with the Stroganoff coat of arms (formerly in the Aaron Gallery in Paris), another described in 1769 in the castle of Nymphenburg (Germany) and a third with the coat of arms of Bavaria (the base is slightly different), in patinated and gilded bronze, illustrated in H: Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, p. 71. Among the andirons identified today is a pair in gilt bronze recently sold by the Beaussant-Lefèvre firm in Paris on March 19, 2004, lot 140 (115 000€). It is interesting to recall that several mentions of horse andirons are found in the inventory after the death of Jacques Caffiéri (1678-1755) in 1755 (ANMC, XXVII, 277) as well as in that of his wife in 1770. Let us also mention to finish the copies of the Bonnemet sale of 1772 (lot 112) and the one of the Gaignat sale of 1769 with a sketch by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin in the margin (lot 194).