A Handmaiden of Diana
Claude-Augustin Cayot (Paris 1677 - Paris 1722)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1718
Materials
Carrara marble
Measurements
1710 x 820 x 70 mm
Place of origin
Paris
Order this imageCollection
Cliveden Estate, Buckinghamshire
NT 766204
Caption
Marble sculpture of a Companion of Diana by Claude Poirier and Claude- Augustin Cayot dated 1715. The Companions are all portrayed as the Roman goddess Diana, who was the goddess of hunting and birth. Originally King Louis XIV of France commissioned eighteen statues of handmaidens. However they were split up and are now in different public and private collections all over the world including Versailles.
Summary
Carrara marble sculpture, A Handmaiden of Diana by Claude-Augustin Cayot (Paris 1677 - Paris 1722), signed on reverse 1718. She strides forward on her right foot, the left arm swinging across her front, a bow held in her right hand. Turns her head back over her right shoulder to look at her dog, thus creating a S curve (contra pose). A quiver hangs on her back. Carved for Louis XIV chateau at Marly. It came from Bagatelle, Paris.
Provenance
Louis XIV chateau at Marly; Bagatelle, near Paris;
Makers and roles
Claude-Augustin Cayot (Paris 1677 - Paris 1722), sculptor