64 - 18th-Century Sèvres

18th-Century Sèvres A soft-paste porcelain group depicting François Boucher’s (1703–1770) *Flute Lesson*, a romantic and pastoral scene in which a young shepherd on the left teaches a young shepherdess to play the flute while embracing her. Work sculpted in Sèvres by Étienne Maurice Falconet (1716–1791). The original model was created between 1757 and 1766 and displayed on a rectangular mound; here, the group rests on a round pedestal, which required the mold maker to slightly modify the arrangement. Mark without Height CONDITION The shepherd’s right hand has been reattached, and one horn of the cow lying in the background is missing. Note François Boucher’s painting depicts the shepherd on the right; Falconet had the opportunity to see it and have it reproduced in porcelain. Other manufacturers, such as Cyfflé in Lunéville, also reproduced this group but, having access only to the engraving, depicted the shepherd on the left.