The Meissen manufactory created two sets of Cris de Paris figures. The first, a group of seven male figures, was probably modeled by P. Reinicke between 1744 and 1747. The present figures are from the second series, probably modeled by P. Reinicke after 1753. Consisting of 34 standing figures, very slightly smaller in scale than the first series, The Cris de Paris is recognized as the most extensive series of figures made at the Meissen manufactory.

The designs for this later set of Cris de Paris figures were taken from a series of watercolor drawings commissioned by the French art dealer Jean-Claude Huet (d. 1755), a Parisian merchant and dealer in Meissen porcelain. Of the three incomplete sets of watercolor drawings of these designs found in the Meissen archives, one set is inscribed with the date 1753 and the monogram CH, suggesting that this may have been the date that the drawings arrived at the manufactory. The numbers impressed on the undersides correspond to numbers found on the corresponding drawing.

Based on the presence of this CH, these watercolors were traditionally attributed to the French painter Christophe Huet (1700-1759). However, recent scholarship points to Jean-Claude Huet as the more likely source artist. For a detailed discussion of Meissen’s production of these charming character figures and a scientific analysis of their physical and decorative make-up, see V. Sigalas & M. Chilton, All Walks of Life, A Journey with The Alan Shimmerman Collection, Stuttgart, 2022. Similar figures to those in the present lot can be found on p. 272 (pastries and lemonade), p. 280 (oysters), p. 285 (pastries), p. 287 (bouquet), p. 296 (Savoyard).

See also Y. Adams, op. cit., p. 19, nos. 22 and 23 (pâtissier); p. 24, nos. 36 and 37 (oyster seller); p. 28, nos. 50 and 51 (‘flower girl’); and p. 32, nos. 62 and 63 (crier with cradle, identified as a Savoyarde beggar) for these models and their corresponding drawings by Huet. See p. 26, no. 44 for another example of the macaroon seller, also offered in the present auction. Compare also the examples in M. Eberle, Cris de Paris, Meissener Porzellanfiguren des 18. Jarhunderts, Leipzig, 2001, pp. 74-75, no. 23 (‘flower girl’); pp. 82-83, no. 27 (pâtissier); pp. 104-105, no. 38 (crier with cradle); and pp. 130-131, no. 51 (oyster seller).