Coming from a family of Neapolitan sculptors, Solari produced this highly finished presentation model for an equestrian statue of Charles III, king of Spain, and ruler of Naples. The statue was intended as the centerpiece of a new square in Naples but remained unrealized for financial reasons. Exquisitely detailed, the model  preserves Solari’s concept for the commission, presenting the king in the guise of a Roman emperor, in keeping with precedents made for other Bourbon rulers, notably Louis XIV. Its large size and fragile wax medium make the model’s survival almost miraculous.