Plaster Cast after a Plaster Sculpture in the MET Museum, New York, 19th Century

The original, also in plaster, which served as a model for our sculpture is signed Poli, perhaps for Polly, a sculptor and dealer in plaster decorations active in Paris during the First Empire. Housed at the MET Museum in New York, in an alcove of a wood paneling, this original could have been commissioned by Joséphine de Beauharnais, although this is not certain.

Our plaster sculpture could date from the same century as the original on which it is modeled. The whole, in good condition, is made of coated plaster. The sculpture may represent Hebe, daughter of Zeus and Hera, wife of Heracles and goddess of Youth, Forgiveness, Light, and Immortality. Her contrapposto—the swaying hips for which ancient sculptors are famous—emphasizes the folds of her chiton (tunic), while she holds the vessel for pouring the nectar of the gods in her right hand, and Zeus’s cup in her left. Both are missing from our proof.