Lot 57
57
A SEVRES BISCUIT GROUP, 'La Lanterne Magique'
PROPERTY FROM THE VALENTINE COLLECTION
A SEVRES BISCUIT GROUP, 'La Lanterne Magique'

CIRCA 1760, INCISED WITH A HEART

Details
A SEVRES BISCUIT GROUP, 'La Lanterne Magique'
CIRCA 1760, INCISED WITH A HEART
Modeled 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
6¼ in. (15.9 cm.) high
Provenance
Sotheby's, New York, 14/25 April 1992, lot 124 ($4,950)

Lot Essay

The present group was first modeled by Etienne-Maurice Falconet in 1757. The subject is 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 this model 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 examples of the present model and its pair 'Le Tourniquet', see The Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection, Christie's, New York, 21 March 1991, lot 125; anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 11 March 1996, lot 278; and most recently Property from the Estate of Robert L. and Elise F. Burwell, Jr., Christie's, New York, 17/18 May 2005, lot 81.

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