Lot Essay
Cordier's figure of the Prtresse d'Isis jouant de la harpe was first exhibited at the Salon of 1874 and again at the Universal Exhibition of 1878. The original model, now lost, was a sumptuous example of polychrome sculpture, an art form that Cordier exploited to its fullest potential, and would have consisted of a highly ornate juxtaposition of enamels, gilt, silver and bronze. The inspiration for the work was drawn from the paintings and carvings on the tomb walls and sarcophagi that Cordier encountered during his government-funded ethnographic mission to the banks of the Nile in 1866 and the model for the figure itself was a beautiful young harem girl.