A FRENCH WHITE MARBLE GROUP OF VENUS AND CUPID, after Étienne-Maurice Falconet, the naked goddess shown seated on a tree trunk, the winged Cupid supported on a bank of clouds and reaching up to suckle, holding Cupid with her left hand, her right pressing her breast, Cupid's quiver at her feet, on white marble partially fluted base with ormolu trim, 19th Century

Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791) became the director of sculpture at the Sèvres factory in 1757. It was during this period that he developed the subject of Venus and Cupid, producing a series of images on the theme for translation into porcelain. The present group of Venus nursing Cupid is a celebrated model by Falconet, and is a variant of a marble group in the Wallace Collection, London. It treats with masterly success a mythological topic on an intimate scale, and consequently achieved great popularity. It was reproduced within Falconet's studio and later during the 19th century. The present version is a fine copy, closely following Falconet's delicacy of carving, such as the softness of the flesh and the tapering fingers.