Owls Making Love (or) The Matchmakers

A early rare sculpture. Dated with British Diamond mark on verso.

See Daniel Chester French and His Concord Associations - Concord Journal, October 15, 1931

References:

Exhibition "Everything Old is New Again: Recent Acquisitions" (Concord Museum, June 23-Sept. 16, 2001)Exhibition "Recent Acquisitions" (Concord Museum, Feb. 9-Sept. 15, 1996).Exhibition "Crowdsourcing a Collection" (Concord Museum, Oct 21, 2011-Mar 18, 2012)Exhibition "From the Minute Man to the Lincoln Memorial: The Timeless Sculpture of Daniel Chester French" (Concord Museum, October 11, 2013-March 23, 2014)

https://concordlibrary.org/special-collections/ruth-wheeler-concord-articles/daniel-chester-french-and-his-concord-associations

http://www.concordcollection.org/mDetail.aspx?rID=1994.054&db=objects&dir=PERMANENT&osearch=daniel%25252525252520chester%25252525252520french&list=res&rname=&rimage=&page=1&fbclid=IwAR3oINh7Mx4-HPcLhJ9viOf7Wi-khxtgmeQH7mjAOQE5di9Xah2lQrWMNB0

Artist: Daniel Chester French (1850-1931)
Medium: Glazed Plaster w/ metal r
Date: August 1871
Size: 8 x 6"
Provenance: Hill House
Subject: Sculpture

Notes & Literature: Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) was born in New Hampshire and moved to Concord with his family in 1867. French's first significant public sculpture was The Concord Minuteman, commissioned by the town to commemorate the centenary of the North Bridge fight. Prior to that, French, whose first instruction in sculpting came from May Alcott, Louisa May Alcott's sister, produced several small compositions to be used as models for the production of parian ware (a white ceramic) figural groups. Late in his life, French recalled that the venture was motivated by his need for funds to continue his art studies. With his father's help, he made a deal with a Boston dry goods firm to have the pieces produced in England. His owl parians were some of his most popular, meant for display in the parlor and complete with a hollowed out stump to hold matches.

In the early 1870's, the craze for small-scale sentimental sculpture continued to flourish. These inexpensive objects adorned table-tops and mantels in Victorian parlors, expressing the inhabitants' gentility and aesthetic sensibilities. Before he received the "Minute Man" commission, French began creating works to be cast into Parian porcelain. The figurines were produced in English porcelain manufactories and then sold in American art galleries.This charming depiction of a pair of owls sharing a roost evidences French's interest in birds and nature. Henry David Thoreau wrote "I rejoice that they are owls," and French also admired the nocturnal creatures. Inscribed on the bottom of the Concord Museum's plaster version are the words, "if you were an owl/ and I were an owl."

On March 19,1871, French wrote to his brother, William Merchant Richardson French, "Williams and Everett have at last issued the 'owls' and there is now a copy in each of their windows." The Boston distributors sold the Parian owls as well as painted-plaster reproductions for just a few dollars apiece. "Matchmaking" was one of French's most successful works in Parian porcelain.For his 1913 silver wedding anniversary party at Chesterwood, French had his studio assistant cast "a lot of the love-making owls . . . and gave each of the lady guests one." He thought it "seemed appropriate."

Condition: One chip on top left owl head. Some other minor flakes. See photos. Good plus. Rare.