after a model by:

PIGALLE, Jean-Baptiste

Paris 1714 - Paris 1785

Maker: Sèvres, Manufacture nationale de

Mercure

Mercury

c. 1770

soft-paste porcelain

statuette

Dimensions (HxWxD): H. 9 ⁷⁄₁₆ in.

Acc. No.: 48.978

Credit Line: Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911

Photo credit: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

© Artist : public domain

© Artist : public domain

Baltimore, Maryland, The Walters Art Museum

thewalters.org

Provenance

• New York, E. F. Bonaventure
• 1911, Baltimore, Henry Walters, by purchase
• 1931, Walters Art Museum, by bequest

Bibliography

• Museum's website, May 22, 2013

Comment

• Museum's website, May 22, 2013:
  With the emergence of neoclassicism, Sèvres began to manufacture unglazed porcelain replicas of statuary. Known as biscuit (twice cooked), the ceramic was fired in preparation of the paste and again in the shaping of the pieces. These pieces were based on the works by J.-B Pigalle. The Mercury is modeled after the life-size statue Pigalle made for Frederic II's palace, Sans Souci.

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