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Criqui vs. Kilbane Boxing Bronze by L. Allioux
This bronze sculpture by French artist L. Allioux was part of an outpouring of nationalistic pride for French featherweight boxer Eugene Criqui after he defeated the American champ Johnny Kilbane at the Polo Grounds in New York on June 2, 1923. Criqui, who won praise for his service in the French Army in WWI, during which his jaw was shattered by a bullet. He fought with wire and silver plates in his jaw, moving up from the flyweight division to challenge Kilbane, who had held the featherweight crown for 11 years, and beat him with a 6-round KO. The stunning upset made him a national hero in his country (alas, he lost the crown a mere 54 days later to Johnny Dundee), and prompted Allioux to immortalize the moment with the magnificent bronze rendering of Criqui and Kilbane in the ring, a Kilbane right hook being matched by a Criqui left hook, their bodies bent at near-identical 45-degree angles their eyes sizing each other up. Allioux put a lot of attention into the detail, seemingly down to every strand of their hair. The alloy is done in a dark green color flecked by gold streakd accents, a mood emulated on the marble base beneath the green platform on which the fighters are mounted. Dimensions of the figures are roughly 10 1/2 x 13", the base 19 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 12". The figures need to be retightened to the base. Condition is EX-NRMT withlight and scattered scratches of the platform and base. Bronze figures themselves are nearly pristine, and comprise one of the best and most accurate boxing bronzes ever created.
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