Adonis | 2023 Premier Club

The Second Release of the 2023 Premier Club!

With exquisite new sculptures and finely detailed finishwork, each release in Breyer’s Premier Collection is a true celebration of equine artistry.

The second release in the 2023 Collection is Adonis, a historical Lippizan.

When you think of historical equine artwork, one cannot help but think of the enduring beauty of the Lipizzan, which has been replicated in almost every medium throughout the centuries. Inspired by the painting “The Imperial Stud with Lipizzaner Horses” by Johann Georg Hamilton (1672-1737), artist Heather Puleo both sculpted and created the original finishwork for this fine Lipizzan stallion.

Appropriately named Adonis, he has a timeless and elegant appearance, with finishwork that’s a nod to the historical Lipizzan’s colorful coats. His flashy buckskin semi-leopard appaloosa coat is the perfect complement to his athletic sculpture.

True to her style, Heather thoughtfully planned every detail of this piece. The sculpture was designed to represent a mature Lipizzan stallion of the Conversano line in his prime, approximately 15 years old. This commanding stallion is performing the courbette, a high-level dressage maneuver where a horse balances on its hind legs while evenly tucking its front legs in the air, then performs a series of jumps forward before allowing the front legs to touch back down. Adonis is specifically in the landing phase of the first jump and is coiling energy in his hind quarters, about to launch into the air for his next jump! Heather sculpted his hind end to show the tension of this difficult movement and to express the power needed to perform at this level. She shares, “While sculpting, I had to rework his position many, many times to properly capture the motion, compressed power, and relaxed but determined expression of this noble breed and stallion performing this exceptional haute école movement.”

Each Premier Collection exclusive model is a hand-painted work of art, and no two are ever precisely the same.