CIRCA 1761, INCISED CAPITAL T WITH SERIPHS

Also known as Nymphe qui descend au bain, Etienne-Maurice Falconet based his biscuit figure of a bather of 1758 on his life-size marble of the previous year, now in the collection of the musée du Louvre. In 1762, he designed a second bather as a pendant. 'Baigneuse aux roseaux' has often been confused with Simon-Louis Boizot's 'Baigneuse à l'éponge' of 1774. Similar in pose, Boizot's nymph holds a sponge in her hand, truly poised to descend into the water to wash. For a detailed discussion of these models, see Marie-Noëlle Pinot de Villechenon, et. al., Falconet à Sèvres 1757-1766 ou l'art de plaire, Exhibition Catalogue, 6 November 2001 - 5 February 2002, nos. 6, 95b, 97b.

For another example and its pair in soft-paste, each on 18th century fluted cobalt and white columnar plinths, see Christie's New York, 19 October 2007, lot 358.