CIRCA 1770, AFTER MODELS BY FALCONET, THE FIRST INCISED SCRIPT JB FOR BACHELIER, THE UNDERISDE INCISED C, THE SECOND INCISED F FOR FALCONET

Etienne-Maurice Falconet based his 1758 biscuit figure La Baigneuse -- also known as Nymphe qui descend au bain -- on his life-size marble shown at the Salon of 1757. A copy made for Madame du Barry is in the collection of the Louvre. In 1762, he designed a second bather as a pendant, Baigneuse aux roseaux, which, with its reversed pose, gracefuly reflects the form of the earlier figure. As one delicately tests the water with her toe while removing her drape, the other hurredly covers herself as she rises from the water (See M.N. Pinot de Villechenon, et. al., Falconet à Sèvres 1757-1766 ou l'art de plaire, exhibition catalogue, Sèvres, musée national de la céramique, 2001-2002, nos. 6, 95b, 97b).