THE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN GENTLEMAN Lots 127-142 The following fifteen lots, all but three purchased from a Paris dealer in 1955, tell a fascinating story of the market for and connoisseurship of Vincennes and Sèvres porcelain as it evolved over the course of nearly sixty years. When known, the purchase price in 1955 has been listed, along with the description of each piece as it appeared on the invoice.

A SEVRES BISCUIT FIGURE GROUP OF CHILDREN PLAYING WITH A TRAINED DOG DRESSED IN A CRINOLINE: 'LE CHIEN QUI DANSE'

CIRCA 1760, INCISED A AND WITH AN ISOSCELES TRIANGLE BISECTED BY A VERTICAL LINE EXTENDING PAST THE BOTTOM BAR OF THE TRIANGLE AND TERMINATING IN A SMALL CIRCLE

Details

A SEVRES BISCUIT FIGURE GROUP OF CHILDREN PLAYING WITH A TRAINED DOG DRESSED IN A CRINOLINE: 'LE CHIEN QUI DANSE'
Circa 1760, incised A and with an isosceles triangle bisected by a vertical line extending past the bottom bar of the triangle and terminating in a small circle
Modelled as children of various ages ranged in a semi-circle around a small hound dressed in a crinoline and dancing on its hind legs, a basket of galettes in the foreground
8 7/8in. (22.6cm.) high; 11in. (27.9cm.) wide

Provenance

With Matteo, Paris, 17 May 1955 (140,000 French francs)
By descent to the present owner

Lot Essay

The present group, one of the largest made by Sèvres, was designed by Falconet in 1758 and retailed for 300 livres, a high price presumeably based on its size and complexity. It is likely for this reason that few were made. One, purchased from the dealer Poirier by Claude Bonnat on behalf of the duke of Parma is in the collection of the museuo degli Argenti, Pitti Palace, Florence [see Svend Eriksen and Geoffrey de Bellaigue, Sèvres Porcelain, Vincennes and Sèvres 1740-1800, London, 1987, p. 312, fig. 125]. A second, from the Fenaille Collection is now in the Musée national de Céramique at Sèvres. Factory records list examples as having been acquired by the duc de Choiseul and Mme de Pompadour. Cf. exhibition catalogue, Falconet à Sèvres ou l'art de plaire 1757-1766, Musée national de Céramique, Sèvres, 6 November 2001 - 4 February 2002, cat. no. 74.

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