Early Biscuit Figurine

This is an amazing figurine made by Sevres in the late 18th century. First modeled by Louis-Simon Boizot in 1788 this piece is labeled La Leçon de l'Amour on the front of the base which translates to The lesson of Love - showing Venus kneeling on an oval base with cupid seemingly wispering something to her. It is made of biscuit porcelain (unglazed porcelain) which was meant to look like marble and this is a superb example of that look. Superbly modeled with lot of detail - an often copied model but nothing beats the real deal! The figurine is in superb condition with two tiny chips to the top edge of the base, a chip to the end of the cloth that flows over cupid's quiver, a few spots of staining and a few firing flaws - mostly firing cracks. There is one in her right wrist, the cloth over her lap, on cupid's knee that touches Venus, through her left foot and on the cloth behind her back. A small spot of porcelain missing just above her butt also original from the making. His left toes are oddly stained but likely from a repair when it was made which might explain the incised mark on the side of the base that looks like an F with a line through it and a dot next to it as shown. Likely a repairer's mark but not much is known about these incised marks on early biscuit pieces. These figures were never marked with a factory mark - not sure why but often are found with repairer's mark or the mark of four individuals - Falconet and Boizot being two of them. They often approved pieces and then used their mark to show that they did so. Not here sadly but it is definitely a Sevres piece from around this time. The figure displays perfectly and is truly an amazing piece! It is unmarked which is normal on early Sevres pieces but a known model! The figurine is 8.25 inches tall, 6 inches wide and 4.25 inches deep. Please email me for more information or other pictures.