Claude-Michel, called Clodion 1738-1814

French & Company, New York; Heim Gallery, London

Heim Summer 1979, no. 31; Washington, New York, Cambridge 1979-1982, no. 81 (illus.); New York 1981; Chicago 1987-1988, no. 19 (illus.)

Poulet and Scherf 1992, p.28, fig. 8, n. 80, (illus.)

Very minor surface abrasions and chips. Minor restorations include: small repair to her proper right forefinger, some to left hand and edge of platter. Stable hairline cracks include: on base between her feet (some slight over-painting on base) and at her neck. Some stable hairline cracks on reverse. Three small chips on the back of her drapery. Beautiful quality.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Clodion modelled this fine female statuette in the late 1760s - 1770s during his stay at the French Academy in Rome.

Both the present and the following lot are mentioned in the Clodion exhibition catalogue, and as Anne Poulet suggests, may be identified with the two statuettes once belonging to the famous painter Charles Natoire (1700-1777). The figures are described in the catalogue of the sale after the painter's death (Paris, November 14, 1778, no. 75) as follows: 'Deux belles figures de Vestales, ajustées dans le genre antique, par Claudion' and was sold for 503 livres to Paillet.

Both figures may then have belonged to the de Boynes collection (sale in Paris on March 15, 1785, no. 126) where they appear with a more precise description in the catalogue as 'a pair of statuettes on giltbronze and marble bases, holding sacred vessels in their hands no. 126: 'Deux belles figures debout, par le même (Clodion) représentant des Vestales, l'une portant des vases pour les sacrifices' ; no. 127 'L'autre est aussi debout & bien drapée ; elles sont sur des bases de bronze doré et ciselée encastrées dans un socle de marbre blanc à pan coupé (...) le tout haut d'environ  18 pouces', indicating a total height of the statuettes on marble bases of around 44 cm.

Neoclassical Vestal Virgins were among Clodion's favorite subjects, beautifully illustrated by the fine terracotta figure of a standing Vestal (1768) wearing a long dress, her head covered with a veil and floral crown and holding a vase in the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh. The painter François Boucher owned a terracotta version of this Vestal by the fire, and a significantly larger marble of this subject was commissioned to Clodion in 1768 by General Chouvalof for Catherine the Great of Russia (Samuel Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.).