A cast bronze antique sculpture Gloria Victis or Glory to the Vanquished, by Antonin Mercié, French, 1845 to 1916, cast by Barbédienne. The plinth is inscribed with title and F. Barbedienne, Fondeur, and stamped with the Réduction Méchanique medallion. Mercié designed this sculpture following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. He intended to honor those French soldiers who had fallen in the conflict, especially his friend, the artist Henri Regnault (1843–1871). Upon France's defeat, Mercié changed the hero's head from lifted to fallen. European Fine Arts And Collectibles.