Sèvres Manufactory, “Pygmalion and Galatea”, after 1763

“Had this piece been buried underground for thousands of years and just taken out, bearing the name of Phidias in Greek, broken and missing its feet or arms, I would look at it in admiration and silence.” This is what Diderot wrote after seeing the marble sculpture group exhibited by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791) at the Salon of 1763, and produced in this smaller, biscuit porcelain version by the Sèvres factory.