Ernst August III, herzog von Braunschweig, 1916

[akaryu]

Hello fellow Planeteers,



Recently this bust of Ernst August III, Prinz von Hannover, Herzog von Braunschweig, in the uniform of the 17th Hussar Regiment, by United Empire Miniatures, caught my eye while rummaging through my grey army. Before putting paint to the nice fellow, some research was in order.

And that's where I got stuck! A close look at the orders & medals on the box art raises questions and doubts, which after days of plowing through all my German reference books have only grown bigger and bigger.

Existing portraits and paintings of dear Ernst, husband of lovely Viktoria Luise, daughter of Willy the Prussian, are many, but not one shows the array of medals and ribbons shown on the box.


The box art's arrangement:


And a close-up of the bust itself sepia washed to try and identify what's what:



I'm afraid I'm in for some major resculpting!

Any help & comment very much appreciated,

Pierre

 

[tomifune]

Pierre.

The figures in the Michael Miniatures wing of UEM were all based on uniforms or paintings in the Mike Cramer museum. Contact Mike via the UEM website and he will be happy to share whatever info you need.

Bob

 

[akaryu]

Thank you Bob,

I'll do that as a last resort.

On the box art there are some medals which Ernst August was entitled do, but the one on the right for instance looks suspiciously similar to the French Legion d'Honneur which is not on his list of awards. Would be rather strange for a German Prince in 1916!

Hopefully Martin Antonenko chimes, in fact any expert advice is most welcome.

Cheers,

Pierre

 

[arj]

Is this of any use to you Pierre?:-
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Augustus,_Duke_of_Brunswick
Scroll down to find the list of Honours, which are linked to the actual items.

Cheers,
Andrew

P.S. I didn't fully read your reply in #3 above; so I presume you already have this information.

 

[akaryu]

Thank you Andrew!

Yes, I have the list of honours, very handy indeed, but only the Brunswick and Hannover ones can be correlated to those on the bust.

The quest for information goes on.

Cheers,
Pierre

 

[akaryu]

Fast as lightning, I got a response from Michael Cramer himself. This is the medal bar used for the bust:

Everything is clear now, except the fact that he is wearing the Légion d'Honneur!

If anyone can explain that, I'd be in your debt.

Cheers,

Pierre

 

[Nap]

Hi Pierre

Okay I am now in a state .......great research and great response from Mike there , nicely sculpted medals ...painting should be a pleasure

Very intrigued to know ref the LOH as well ....looks like a original uniform in the medal set

Look forward to seeing this hopefully as a WIP in V bench

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Dr Bison]

I just don't believe in the Légion d'Honneur - I agree with Pierre that it makes no sense for a German prince to wear a French medal during the war. I also couldn't find any clues anywhere as to what Ernst August might have done for the French nation to deserve such an honour.

But I'm following your progress on this wonderful bust.
Karl

 

[Nap]

I just don't believe in the Légion d'Honneur - I agree with Pierre that it makes no sense for a German prince to wear a French medal during the war. I also couldn't find any clues anywhere as to what Ernst August might have done for the French nation to deserve such an honour.

But I'm following your progress on this wonderful bust.
Karl

Agree there Carl ...would love to see more pics of the references, uniform from Mike on this

Nap

 

[akaryu]

I just don't believe in the Légion d'Honneur - I agree with Pierre that it makes no sense for a German prince to wear a French medal during the war. I also couldn't find any clues anywhere as to what Ernst August might have done for the French nation to deserve such an honour.

But I'm following your progress on this wonderful bust.
Karl

Mike wrote me that the medal bar in his museum is not correct for Ernst August, so the LH is an anomaly on this bust. The existing photos and paintings show enough other orders & medals to replace the Légion d'Honneur.

While doing some more research and before grabbing scalpel and putty, I'll focus on the other victims on my bench. Ernst August's father in law in one of his many guises or his lovely wife in her hussar uniform might come first.

Anyway, thanks to Mike Cramer for his immediate and friendly reaction.

Cheers,

Pierre

PS Having never seen a painted version of this bust apart from Sang On Lee's box art, I makes me wonder why there are so many figures and busts produced, but never seen one in shows or even on the internet. Where do all these end up?

 

[Dr Bison]

...or his lovely wife in her hussar uniform...

Sorry to hijack this thread, but would this be the old Ulrich Puchala bust? If so, I'm eagerly awaiting your rendition of this wonderful mini. It's also somewhere in my GA, but I'm scared to mess it up...

BTW I am also amazed that so few busts from the Imperial German series of Michael Miniatures are seen - there are some really lovely characters amongst them.

 

[akaryu]

Yes Karl, it is the Puchala 1/10 bust of Viktoria-Luise in the uniform of the 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment, simple but nice.

It is still a pity Ulrich Puchala stopped making busts.

Pierre

 

[Dr Bison]

Well, now I'm sitting back with a cuppa in my hand, waiting for your take on this marvel.

Yes, it is indeed a pity that Puchala has stopped with his busts and figures. I loved his creations, not just because he was one of the very few who produced Imperial German figures that were accurate and really well-modelled, but also because their body language was so spot on.

Karl