Terms and conditions of use
SÈVRES PORCELAIN FACTORY, Sèvres (manufacturer), Étienne-Maurice FALCONET (modeller), Charles-Nicolas COCHIN (after) (engraver), François BOUCHER (after) (tapestry designer)
The magic lantern
(La lanterne magique)
modelled 1757; manufactured (1757-1760)
Medium
porcelain (biscuit, soft-paste)
Measurements
15.5 × 16.8 × 12.9 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Peter and Ivanka Canet, 2015
Gallery location
17th & 18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This group was first modelled by Falconet in 1757 and is based on an engraving by Charles-Nicolas Cochin after a now lost tapestry design by the painter François Boucher. Examples from this series of children playing at a fair were first sold to Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, and others were known to belong to Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria. Porcelain figures evolved as decorations for the dessert table, replacing those made of sugar or wax. White, unglazed biscuit porcelain was launched at the Sèvres manufactory in 1751 and proved an ideal substitute for sugar sculpture, soon replacing the manufactory’s production of glazed figures.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Sèvres, Seine-et-Oise, France
Inscription
incised in base c.: M
Accession Number
2015.48
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited