A pair of French terracotta female allegorical busts, one signed 'noubel Sculp', circa 1800, probably Toulouse

Little is known of the sculptor of these charming busts; a sculptor called Noubel père is listed in 1767 as professor at the academy in Toulouse (Du Mège 1846, p. 385) and contributed several allegorical busts to the salon of 1786 at Toulouse (Toulouse 1896, p. 157).  Noubel fils is listed as a sculptor in 1786 and also contributed to the salon that year.  A bust signed Noubel and dated 1809, given to Noubel fils, is in the Musée des Beaux-arts in Chambéry.

RELATED LITERATURE

Alexandre Du Mège, Histoire des institutions religieuses, politiques, judiciares et littéraires de la ville de Toulouse, Volume 4, 1846
Société archéologique du Midi de la France, Mémoires de la Société archéologique du Midi de la France, Volumes 15-16, Toulouse, 1896