After the original sculpture by Maria Cassavetti, this metal statue on an alabaster base depicts Cupid stringing his bow. A small stump can be seen behind Cupid’s left foot, as he uses his right foot and right hand to bend the bow while he holds the bowstring in his left hand. His long, textured wings are displayed as the cherub stares intently at the ground. A small piece of fabric wrapped around his waist trails down across his upper thighs. The caramel colored statute with darkened patination rests upon a white circular alabaster base with cavetto molding beneath a placard that reads “L’Amour Irresistible Par Mme Cassavetti Beaux-Arts 1896”.

Maria Cassavetti was born in London in 1843, to a wealthy family originally from Greece. Maria’s father died when she was 15, leaving her with a fortune that allowed her to study at the Slade School under Alphonse Legros and Auguste Rodin. Some of Maria’s works were completed under her married name, Zambaco, but nonetheless, she was an accomplished sculptor, exhibiting in the late 1880’s at the Royal Academy in London and the Paris Salon. Interestingly, Maria also found fame as a model, posing for such works as Phyllis and Demophoön and The Beguiling of Merlin, both by Edward Burne-Jones, while also sitting for Dante and Whistler.

CONDITION: Good antique condition with minor chips and losses to alabaster base. Fleabites to Cupid’s body, as a result of the casting process. The metal has a beautiful caramel color with areas of darkened patina.