Mercury attaching his wings after PigalleOn a circular base, a sculpture in biscuit representing Mercury. The god, wearing his winged hat, is represented twisted to his heels with his caduceus at his feet.This biscuit is a copy of the terracotta made around 1739 by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, right before his return from Rome. A similar version of this Mercury in marble made him academician in 1744.This version was done by the Samson factory in the 19th century. It bears the mark of the factory and a signature of Pigalle and the interlaced 'L' of Sevres. The biscuits made in Sevres in the 18th century came back into fashion in the second half of the 19th century, and were largely imitated by other factories until the 20th century. The Samson manufacture, founded in 1845, claimed his ability to imitate the rarest ceramics. The Samson was used to sell their pieces for the price of a reproduction. The letterhead of the manufacture clearly stated this aptitude by using words such as imitation and reconstitution of old masterpieces. They copied the pieces of the most amazing collections always with the approval of the owners. Besides, the Sevres factory sold them molded models made of plaster of its own collection.The model of Mercury attaching his wings belongs to this collection of molded models sold to the Samson manufacture by Sevres and which had an impressive success.
Circa :1870
Dim: W: 14,2 in - D: 14,2in - H: 20,1in.
Dim: L:36cm, P:36cm, H:51cm.
Bibliography: E. Bourgeois, Le biscuit de Sèvres au XVIII° siècle, Paris, 1909, ed. Goupil, Tome I, p 75, Tome II, p 14L. Réau, J-B Pigalle, Paris, 1950, ed. Pierre Tisné, p 21-23, p 151-152C. Save, "Samson, des porcelaines sans cheveux", l'Estampille, septembre 1971, p 15-21F. Slitine, Samson génie de l'imitation, Paris, 2002, ed. Massin, p 103
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