Of this pair of busts, the model of the Laughing Child has been attributed to a variety of artists and paired with different, although always crying, pendant busts. In his catalogue of sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum (loc. cit.), Nicholas Penny discusses the porcelain version of the Laughing Child. It was long referred to as Roubiliac's daughter. This assertion was based on comparison with Roubiliac's work and on the fact that Nicholas Sprimont, who managed the Chelsea factory which produced the Ashmolean bust, was Sophie Roubiliac's godfather. Dr. Penny finds this theory implausible and supports the tradition of paired laughing and crying busts which dates back at least to the 16th Century.