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Seated Female Satyr

Attributed to: Joseph-Charles Marin (French, 1759–1834)
French
about 1790
Object Place: Europe, France

Medium/Technique Terracotta with self-base
Dimensions Overall: 34.4 cm (13 9/16 in.)
Other (diam of self-base): 21.7 cm (8 9/16 in.)
Credit Line Bequest of Forsyth Wickes—The Forsyth Wickes Collection
Accession Number65.2221
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSculpture

DescriptionA female satyr is seated on an outcropping of rock with a tree trunk at her right side across which lies a thrysus. She has goat's legs and cloven hooves. Her right arm extends across her lower torso and with her right hand she taps a tambourine held in her left hand. She is nude except for two arm bands and a low-slung belt made of grapevine. Her breasts are high and small, her shoulders narrow. Her long wavy hair is parted in the middle and drawn up at the crown of her head. She wears a band in her hair, and loose curls fall over her shoulders. A raking tool has been used to create the textures on much of the base, and a stylus has been used to achieve the choppy effect in the hair and legs.
InscriptionsNone
ProvenanceRothschild collection, London [see note 1]. 1947, Wildenstein and Co., New York; September 10, 1947, sold by Wildenstein to Forsyth Wickes (b. 1876 - d. 1964), New York and Newport, RI; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 24, 1965)

NOTES:
[1] This provenance was provided by Wildenstein and Co. at the time of the object's acquisition by Forsyth Wickes (September 10, 1947). Whether Wildenstein had acquired it directly from the Rothschild family is not known.