Fishing

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The particular qualities of the soft porcelain used at the Sevres factory in the middle years of the 18th century obliged the French master ceramists to forego the use of glaze and decorative painting in the production of porcelain statuettes and to concentrate on the quality of the modelling. The result was figurines in the celebrated Sevres biscuit with its inherent soft lustrous gleam and exceptional refinement. The models for them were created by sculptors whose talents were the glory of French art in the 18th century.
In 1758 Etienne Maurice Falconet created, from sketches by Boucher, a table ornament consisting of two groups that allegorically represented hunting and fishing. The Fishing group features two nymphs, one of which is dragging in the net, while the other plays with a naked child that has a basket of fish at its feet. A second child sits alongside holding a fish.
This particular example is a late repetition dating from 1895.

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