Hope and Cupid

This ivory relief represents Hope and Cupid and its courtly style suggests it may be French, probably Dieppe, and dating from the late eighteenth century. Although attributed to Voyez on acquisition, this reflects rather a tradition of ascribing ivories in this style to the British ceramic modeller John Voyez, who was active in the late eighteenth century. He is not however known to have worked in ivory. This ivory seems more likely to have been made in France, probably Dieppe (see also 115-1878).