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A lion’s skin serves as a saddle. And apparently the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland doesn’t need stirrups to mount his huge steed! August the Strong is depicted here as a Roman general. That explains the high-laced sandals, rather than the boots you would expect. And he is wearing an antique breastplate.

This bronze statuette was the model for a monumental gilded equestrian statue that stands today in the middle axis of Neustadt Market. You see it directly in front of you when you cross the River Elb on the Augustus Bridge.  It was erected on the square in 1736, three years after the Elector’s death.

This model is the work of the French sculptor, Jean-Joseph Vinache. August had long dreamed of commissioning an equestrian statue of himself – probably since 1697, when he was chosen by the Polish aristocracy to ascend the throne of their country. He commissioned Balthasar Permoser to create a grand statue in 1704, and it’s not clear why Permoser never carried out that commission. Paul Hermann also designed a model, which is in the Dresden sculpture collection, but that one wasn’t executed either.

Comparable equestrian monuments, such as the one depicting the Elector of Brandenburg, show the ruler on a cantering horse.  It seems, however, that August the Strong preferred the sight of a horse rearing up. That certainly is the pose adopted in all of these designs. The animal is being reined in effortlessly by its rider. That, of course, is a splendid image of royal might – symbolising the glory of absolute monarchy.