(Birkenfeld 1831-1905 Düsseldorf)
“Chamant by Mortimer-Araucaria”, inscribed, dated and signed Beberbeck 1881, Emil Volkers, oil on canvas, 55 x 70 cm, framed, (Rei)

Chamant was one of the most successful German breeding stallions, a seven times champion sire of German horse racing and sire of three German Derby winners. Chamant was born in France, not far from Senlis, in 1874. He was named after the stud belonging to his breeder Claude Joachim Lefèvre, although he was trained by Thomas Jennings in England. He won the Middle Park Plate and the Dewhurst Stakes as a two-year old at Newmarket in 1876, carrying the colours of his owner Frédéric de Legrange. The following year he won the classic 2000 Guineas, but developed a back injury. Although this didn’t prevent him from running in the Epsom Derby one week later, he came in unplaced, signalling the end of his racing career. Thereupon, in 1878 Chamant was purchased as a breeding stallion by Georg von Lehndorff for the Royal Prussian stud at Graditz in order to revitalise the breeding of thoroughbred horses in Prussia.
As the present oil painting (lot 84) attests, in 1891 Chamant was transferred to the Beberbeck stud; this had been part of the Royal Prussian stud since 1866, and its main purpose was breeding warmbloods and cavalry horses.
The watercolour painting (lot 84), in contrast, originates from the year of the stallion’s death, as the dating of 1898 confirms. This suggests that the work is a memorial to this famous stallion.

We are grateful to Christopher Wentworth-Stanley, archivist of the Jockey Club for Austria, for assistance in cataloguing this work.