Lot Essay
The present marble group corresponds to a side element for a surtout de table in biscuit called Les Cymbales or Bacchante aux Cymbales in the catalogue of the Sèvres porcelain factory (Manufacture de Sèvres, op. cit., no. 166), the only difference being that in the biscuit the drumming putto is omitted. It is one of three related Sèvres biscuit groups, the others being a table centre representing Le Triomphe de Bacchus and another side element called Le Tambourin, all of which are said to be after Taraval. Hugues Taraval (1729-1785) was a painter, not a sculptor, and it has been suggested that the groups may have been based on sketches for his unexecuted frescoes for the Galérie d'Apollon in the Louvre. A Triumph of Bacchus had served as his morceau de reception for the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1769.
It would appear, then, that a sketch by Taraval served as the point of departure for the present group. It seems to be the work of Félix Lecomte (1737-1817), a pupil of Falconet and of Vassé, who attended the French Academy in Rome from 1761 to 1768. His morceau de reception for the Académie des Beaux-Arts, representing Phorbas and Oedipus and now in the Louvre, dates from 1771 (Lami, op. cit., pp. 41-42). Two years later he exhibited an 'esquisse' of 'une bacchante dansant et portant des cymbales' at the Paris Salon (Lami, op. cit., p. 44), which must have been the model for the present group. The style of Les Cymbales is consistent with the work of Lecomte, as seen for instance in the slightly later group of Geography and Astronomy, signed and dated 1778, and now at Waddesdon (Hodgkinson, loc. cit.).
The original destination of the present group has not been traced. However, it is known that at the same Salon of 1773, Lecomte exhibited various pieces in connection with Madame du Barry's Pavillon at Louveciennes, which was completed in the previous year. Her accounts further record 'trois grands groupes de marbre' in the garden at Louveciennes, and it is consequently tempting to assume that the three Sèvres groups are reflections of Lecomte's sculptures for the King's mistress. He was certainly much patronised by the court, his portrait of Marie Antoinette (Levey, loc. cit.) being perhaps his most celebrated work, and would have been a natural choice for such a commission. It is no less clear that the present group was created for an important destination, and that it shows Lecomte's fantasy and bravura at their best.
It would appear, then, that a sketch by Taraval served as the point of departure for the present group. It seems to be the work of Félix Lecomte (1737-1817), a pupil of Falconet and of Vassé, who attended the French Academy in Rome from 1761 to 1768. His morceau de reception for the Académie des Beaux-Arts, representing Phorbas and Oedipus and now in the Louvre, dates from 1771 (Lami, op. cit., pp. 41-42). Two years later he exhibited an 'esquisse' of 'une bacchante dansant et portant des cymbales' at the Paris Salon (Lami, op. cit., p. 44), which must have been the model for the present group. The style of Les Cymbales is consistent with the work of Lecomte, as seen for instance in the slightly later group of Geography and Astronomy, signed and dated 1778, and now at Waddesdon (Hodgkinson, loc. cit.).
The original destination of the present group has not been traced. However, it is known that at the same Salon of 1773, Lecomte exhibited various pieces in connection with Madame du Barry's Pavillon at Louveciennes, which was completed in the previous year. Her accounts further record 'trois grands groupes de marbre' in the garden at Louveciennes, and it is consequently tempting to assume that the three Sèvres groups are reflections of Lecomte's sculptures for the King's mistress. He was certainly much patronised by the court, his portrait of Marie Antoinette (Levey, loc. cit.) being perhaps his most celebrated work, and would have been a natural choice for such a commission. It is no less clear that the present group was created for an important destination, and that it shows Lecomte's fantasy and bravura at their best.