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an image of a statue of a woman holding a childa statue of a woman and three children on a pedestalstatue of a woman holding a child and a bird in her handan image of a statue of a woman and children on a rockstatue of a woman with a dog and a bird on a rockan image of a statue of a woman holding a childstatue of a woman holding a child and a dog
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103 - Attributed to the circle of Jacob Sigisbert ADAM (1670–1747)
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Estimate €10,000 - €15,000
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Description
Attributed to the circle of Jacob Sigisbert ADAM (1670–1747) First half of the 18th century Latona and her Children Terracotta group Latona, depicted in the centre, is surrounded by her children, Diana and Apollo, as well as an allegorical figure. The terrace is adorned with frogs. H_52 cm W_30 cm D_22 cm (Some losses and minor repairs; Latona’s hands and parts of her arms are missing.) Our terracotta sculpture of Latona is very much in the tradition of early 18th-century Lorraine sculpture. Its pyramidal composition, combined with the dynamic and accentuated rendering of the drapery, brings it close to a statuette of Ceres created by Jacob Sigisbert Adam in the early 18th century (Nancy, Musée Lorrain, inv. no. DTS 89; op. cit., cat. no. 19). In particular, similarities can be noted in the rendering of Latona’s face—with its pointed nose, pronounced eyebrows, and protruding almond-shaped eyes with incised pupils—as well as in the modelling of the drapery. Due to their style and pyramidal composition, two allegorical terracotta sculptures held at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, ‘Strength’ and ‘Abundance’, have also been linked to the work of Jacob Sigisbert Adam. Now regarded as works by Christian Kirchner (1691–1733), a pupil of Balthasar Permoser in Dresden (Penet/Scherf, op. cit., figs. 41 and 42), these terracotta sculptures display facial features and a similar modelling of the drapery to our Latona, bearing witness to the artistic exchanges between the courts of Saxony and Lorraine. Iconography: Latona and the Lycian Peasants The subject is taken from Ovid’s *Metamorphoses* (Book VI). Latona (Leto in Greek), lover of Jupiter and mother of Apollo and Diana, is persecuted by Juno, who forbids her from finding a place to give birth to her children. After her exile, she finds refuge on the island of Delos, where the divine twins are born. More specifically, the episode depicts Leto’s stopover in Lycia. Whilst she was seeking to quench her thirst at a pond, the peasants refused her access to the water. In retaliation, the goddess transformed them into frogs. This motif is famously depicted in the monumental marble group at the Latona Fountain in Versailles, completed in 1670, where the episode of the Lycian peasants’ transformation is portrayed as part of a sculptural ensemble designed for the royal gardens. Jacob Sigisbert Adam (1670–1747) Jacob Sigisbert Adam was one of the leading figures in Lorraine sculpture in the first half of the 18th century in Nancy. Trained under César Bagard (1620–1709), he practised in Metz and then in Nancy, where he worked for Duke Leopold of Lorraine from 1698 onwards. In addition to his extensive output of small and medium-sized terracotta works, intended for banquet tables or ducal ceremonial buffets, Jacob Sigisbert was also responsible for the decoration of Nancy Town Hall, the sculptures of the Four Parts of the World on the façade of the Maison Adam in 1718, and the group of children on the fountain at Lunéville Castle. Jacob Sigisbert subsequently trained his sons in the trade, including Lambert Sigisbert (1700–1759), Nicolas Sébastien (1705–1778) and François-Gaspard-Balthazar Adam (1710–1761), thereby establishing a veritable dynasty of sculptors. The dynasty continued through the descendants of Anne Adam, the fourth child of Jacob Sigisbert, who married the sculptor Thomas Michel; from their marriage came the famous Claude Michel, known as Clodion (1738–1814). Expert: Ms Ulrike Christina Goetz +33 (0)6 07 21 98 57 [email protected] - Expert: GOETZ Ulrike Christina
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About the sale Lorraine Residences – From the Polish Court to the Great Collections of Lorraine
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Auction time 10/03/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures modified on 09/21/2026 at 6:15 PM
Lot description modified on 09/21/2026 at 6:15 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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