PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. AND ELISE F. BURWELL

A PAIR OF SEVRES BISCUIT FIGURE GROUPS, 'LA CURIOSITE' OR 'LA LANTERNE MAGIQUE' AND 'LA LOTTERIE' OR 'LE TOURNIQUET'

CIRCA 1765, INCISED CYPHER AND T TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE FIRST, INCISED F AT THE BACK OF THE BASE FOR FALCONET TO THE SECOND

Details

A PAIR OF SEVRES BISCUIT FIGURE GROUPS, 'LA CURIOSITE' OR 'LA LANTERNE MAGIQUE' AND 'LA LOTTERIE' OR 'LE TOURNIQUET'
CIRCA 1765, incised cypher and T to the underside of the first, incised F at the back of the base for Falconet to the second
La Lanterne Magique as a boy operating a magic lantern to the amusement of a girl and her younger brother, she kneeling on rocks and peering into the viewer, a basket of bread dangling from her left hand, the little boy crowding in from the left, his hands on his sister's left shoulder and hip; Le Tourniquet as three children playing a gambling game
6 3/8 in. (16 cm.) high, the two (2)

Provenance

Mrs John W. Christner, Dallas, Texas; Christie's, New York, 9 June 1979, lot 189.

Lot Essay

The present groups were first modeled by Etienne-Maurice Falconet in
1757. The subjects are taken from a lost painting of 1736 by François Boucher entitled La Foire de Village later engraved by Nicolas Cochin fils.

For a detailed discussion of these two models and a listing of public collections in which examples can be found, see Falconet à Sèvres 1757-1766 ou l'art de plaire, Musée national de Céramique, Sèvres, 6 November 2001-4 February 2002, nos. 72 and 73. For other pairs, see The Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection, Christie's, New York, 21 March 1991, lot 125 and anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 11 March 1996, lot 278.

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