France, Sèvres / c. 1768–78
Figure Group of Love Carried by the Three Graces
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Figure Group of Love Carried by the Three Graces as ceramic (France, Sèvres · c. 1768–78).
The design of this figure group appeared among the 38 porcelain figure groups included in a service commissioned for Catherine of Russia in 1779.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as unglazed soft-paste porcelain (biscuit) and credits Sèvres Porcelain Factory (French, est. 1756).
The museum's collection notes: This figure group was likely modeled after the designs of François Boucher, whose designs appeared as figures or paintings on Sèvres porcelain. The scene represented is pulled from classical antiquity; the child wreathed in flowers is a physical manifestation of love and the women who hold him aloft are the three daughters of Zeus, Greek god of the sky.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtFigure Group of Love Carried by the Three GracesOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.