Sculpture of the Day: Cupid, the Organ Grinder, 1750-55

The Victoria and Albert Museum

Here, we have a figure of Cupid as an organ-grinder. He is sitting on a tree-trunk, and his green trousers are slipping down in the back. A fan of the nudity, is Cupid.

What’s particularly peculiar is that he’s using a cat as an organ. I don’t know why. Cranking a cat by the tail will produce a noise. But, not one you'd want to hear.

But, this is certainly very Rococo. And, it’s also quite German. It was made in Berlin of hard-paste porcelain painted in enamels, between 1750 and 1755 by Wegely's porcelain factory. It bears Wegely’s mark—a “W” in under-glaze blue at the back of the pedestal.