Sculptural group; France, c. 1900

Sculptural group; France, c. 1900
"Sans Asile"
Unglazed porcelain, biscuit
Inscription on the base: "Henri Savreux"
Height: 58 cm.

A sculptural group in biscuit porcelain (unglazed), titled "Sans Asile" (inscribed on the base’s cartouche), depicting a young mother standing with a solemn expression and a distant gaze, holding a baby wrapped in a cloth in her arms, while two other children cling to her skirts, in a composition of a sentimental and social nature, characteristic of the theme of neglected childhood cultivated by late 19th-century French genre sculpture. The figures display exquisite modeling in the rendering of the faces and the drapery of the cloths, with highly refined detail in the hair and the children’s expressions.

Despite the lack of a signature, the quality of execution of this group is remarkable and points directly to the stylistic circle of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and, by extension, to the late-19th-century production of the Sèvres Manufactory itself, of which Carrier-Belleuse was artistic director from 1875. The rendering of the faces, as well as the overall finesse of the modeling and the finish of the biscuit, are characteristics that distinguish the highest-quality pieces of this period.