Del Prado · Figure study · NA015 / French issue 4
A musket held level tells you where to start with this figure: the space in front of it. Del Prado’s Coldstream Guardsman works as a defender looking through an opening, across an orchard or over a low wall, rather than as another soldier in a parade row.
The pose is the identification clue
In the reference photograph, the guardsman shoulders a long musket and leans his head toward the stock. His red jacket has conspicuous pale chest lace and crossed white belts; the cuffs are dark, the trousers pale and the headgear black. Both feet stand on an oval, textured base. The weapon projects a considerable distance beyond the body.
Keep the muzzle visible when comparing photographs. In this view there is no long projecting bayonet, so a seller’s claim that one is “missing” needs a closer comparison with the same sculpt. Equally, a broken muzzle can disappear against a dark background. Ask for a side view against a plain surface.
Hougoumont was an outpost, not the whole battlefield
The National Army Museum’s regimental history records that the Coldstream’s 2nd Battalion fought at Quatre Bras, and that its light company helped defend Hougoumont at Waterloo. The miniature’s title therefore points to a particular regimental role in the campaign, not just to a generic redcoat in 1815.
Hougoumont stood ahead of Wellington’s main ridge position. The museum’s battle account explains Napoleon’s intention to draw Allied troops into defending it before attacking elsewhere. French troops briefly penetrated the north gate, but the defenders closed it and retained the position. A wall, gate or orchard boundary gives the figure a more meaningful setting than a vast open field.
Why NA015 may also turn up as number 4
LastDodo records NA015 as the Coldstream private at Hougoumont on 18 June 1815. The Mokarex French infantry list places the Coldstream subject at number 4. The difference is a reason to retain the collection and edition with the number. It is not, by itself, evidence that one seller has misidentified the figure.
Search the regiment, place and year as well as the code. Older records also vary the spelling of Hougoumont. A match of the musket position, jacket, trousers and base is much stronger evidence than the spelling in a sales title.
Build the wall around the sight line
Place the miniature first, then choose the wall height. The barrel should clear the top or align with an opening; a wall that hides the face and lock of the musket loses the point of the pose. A slight angle to the viewer exposes the crossed belts while preserving the firing direction.
Before buying, examine the musket’s connection to each hand, the stock beside the cheek, the hat rim and the paint on the white belts. These small, high-contrast details define the figure. For a coalition comparison, the Dutch militia officer study adds another national subject from the same campaign.
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