A Sèvres biscuit figure of Cupid with its pedestal circa 1760-70

L'Amour menaçant by Etienne-Maurice Falconet, seated on a rocky mound, the blue ground piédestal de l'Amour decorated with caillouté and vermiculé gilding reserved with three flower panels and the inscription 'Omnia Vincit Amor'

Purchased from Albert Amor, 5th June 1957 for £270.

Typical firing cracks to the interior, one has been infilled and has an associated extended fine crack running down the interior and through the footrim. Firing crack through the centre of one of Cupid's wings. Fine crack through one of Cupid's thighs approximately 1cm long. Some superficial staining/dirt. The pedestal has some minor losses to the gilded line around the upper rim. There are some firing cracks to the interior.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This model is after an original marble statue created by Falconet for Louis XV's mistress Mme. de Pompadour in 1755, now in the Louvre.  Cupid is described as menaçant, 'threatening', as having identified a potential victim, he stealthily reaches for an arrow from his quiver in order to shoot him or her, rendering them helplessly in love. The model was extremely popular in the 18th century at Sèvres and was bought by many members of the court, including Mme. de Pompadour.  For the original marble, and an example in Sèvres biscuit porcelain on a base, similar to this one in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, see Falconet à Sèvres, Musée National de Céramique exhibition catalogue, 2002, pp. 91, no. 2 and p. 160, no. 91a.  For a detailed discussion of the model and its companion, Psyche, and examples on similar bases in The Wallace Collection, see Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection of Sèvres Porcelain, 1988, Vol. II, pp. 823-834