Time and Opportunity

This figure group, carved by David Le Marchand in ca. 1700-1720, is based on a life-size garden sculpture at Versailles by Thomas Regnaudin, which is sometimes called The Abduction of Cybele by Saturn. The group represents Time and Opportunity with Penitence. The winged figure of Time seizes Opportunity, but she seizes her own forelock and kills herself with a long spear. Penitence crouches beneath with a lion. Le Marchand specialised in portraiture and this is a relatively unusual subject. Charles Avery believes its sophistication indicates it is a mature or late work, although the inspiration is French, recalling the sculptor's roots.

David Le Marchand (1674-1726) was famed for his ivory carvings, particularly his portraits. He was a native of Dieppe, France, and came from a Huguenot, or Protestant, family. With the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and the consequent persecution of non-Catholics, he had to flee France. He was next recorded in Edinburgh in 1696, where he is documented as receiving official permission to open a shop and take on apprentices. He was in London by 1700, when he started to achieve a reputation for his portraits. Despite his wide circle of important patrons and his evident success, Le Marchand apparently died in poverty at the French Hospital, though the exact reasons for this are unknown.

He is recognised as the most distinguished ivory carver to have worked in England in the early 18th century, a period when this art enjoyed a popularity unknown since the Middle Ages.