Lot 256: A FRENCH IVORY FIGURE OF EVE, ENTITLED ‘LA POMME’

A FRENCH IVORY FIGURE OF EVE, ENTITLED ‘LA POMME’ BY PAUL HYPOLYTE RÉNÉ ROUSSEL (1867-1928), PARIS, EARLY 20TH CENTURY Signed ‘PAUL ROUSSEL’, on a green Cipollino marble pedestal with ormolu collar titled ‘La Pomme’ 18 ½ in. (47 cm.) high

(47 cm.) high

20TH CENTURY

The life-size bronze of Eve cast by Hohwiller from the model by Paul Roussel is in the musée d’Orsay, Paris (RF 3286). The present statuette, posed in contrapposto, is carved in exquisite detail by Roussel’s hand. It is very probably the exciting rediscovery of the example exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français in 1908, listed by the musée d’Orsay as location unknown. Paul Roussel studied under Pierre Jules Cavelier, Louis Ernest Barrias and Jules Félix Coutan. He sculpted models for the Sèvres porcelain manufactory from 1902-1910 and exhibited his most famous work Dancing Nonia at the Salon of 1806. Typical for his day, he predominantly received commission for statues and figures for war memories and was sufficiently well respected to judge at the Salon des Artistes Français and the École des Beaux-Arts. He took the first Grand Prix de Rome in 1895, won a silver medal in 1900, and was declared hors concours the same year. He was an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur.