Leda and the Swan
Leda and the Swan
probably France, circa 1900, unmarked and unsigned, titled ‘Leda’, naturalistic sculpture in bisque porcelain, an Art Nouveau beauty standing on a moulded plinth, depicted nude with chain jewellery and her hair tied back with large water lily leaves, attempting to cover her modesty with a draped cloth and to ward off the swan as it approaches unashamedly; in Greek mythology, Zeus, the father of the gods, in the guise of a swan, seduced and impregnated the beautiful Leda, wife of the Spartan King Tyndareus and mother of the beautiful Helen; the plinth is warped and the piece has been previously restored, H 55.5 cm.
Leda and the Swan
probably France, circa 1900, unmarked and unsigned, titled ‘Leda’, naturalistic sculpture in bisque porcelain, an Art Nouveau beauty standing on a moulded plinth, depicted nude with chain jewellery and her hair tied back with large water lily leaves, attempting to cover her modesty with a draped cloth and to ward off the swan as it approaches unashamedly; in Greek mythology, Zeus, the father of the gods, in the guise of a swan, seduced and impregnated the beautiful Leda, wife of the Spartan King Tyndareus and mother of the beautiful Helen; the plinth is warped and the piece has been previously restored, H 55.5 cm.
