COUSTOU, Guillaume, (the elder), (French, 1677-1746): The Marly Horses, Bronze, 20''h, signed on the bases, foundry mark S B?, with shield and crown mark, remnants of red patina to bases, probably a good 19th C. recasting. Coustou was the son of a wood sculptor (Francois), a student of sculpture under his uncle Antoine Coysenox, then a student at the Academy School. He won 2nd prize in 1696 and 1st prize in 1687. He followed his elder brother Nicolas to Rome, having obtained a small pension from the King. He worked on ecclesiastical ornament and bas reliefs before returning to Paris in 1703. In 1707 Coustou was appointed Sculptor to Louis XIV. Many of his marbles were subsequently edited as bronze reductions. His ''Marly Horses'' executed in marble, was originally at the entrance to a riding school at Marly Park, now at the entrance to Champs Elysies. Gilt-bronze reductions may have been contemporary. Many of his sculptures later became the most popular of all French statuary for reproductions.