French Bisque Porcelain “The Magic Goddess Circe” Signed by Louis Hottot, 1890

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French Bisque Porcelain “The Magic Goddess Circe” Signed by Louis Hottot, 1890

About the Item

Gorgeous ornamental bisque porcelain sculpture representing an young antique woman, being held on a terrace decorated with two lion heads. Behind her, as burden, a Medicis vase with a ram heads with its inside bronze being able to receive a small bouquet. It is a representation of The Magic Goddess Circe. Fine quality in the execution of this bisque porcelain, the lines of the young woman are represented with a lot of sharpness. All the ornamental elements are handled with sharpness, French late 19th century work signed by Louis Hottot, circa 1880-1890. One of this sculpture was in The French Salon in 1897. Measures : 21.25 in H, 10.62 in W, 9.05 in D Louis Hottot is a French artist, best known for his bronze sculpture, some done in the oriental theme. He was born in 1829 and died in 1905. Louis Hottot (1834-1905) is considered one of the finest French sculptors of the 19th century. Though little is known about the early days of his career, in 1885, at the age of 55, Louis Hottot made the biggest step toward success as an artist, participating in the prestigious Sociétaire des Artistes, Français. During this time, Hottot presented to the Salon one to two works each year from 1892 to 1898. Eastern characters and scenes were the dominant subject matter of Hottot’s sculptural works and became his trademark. Today, his interpretations of exotic peoples and events, coupled with his great skill, have made his works highly desirable. Circe: Circe is a goddess of magic or sometimes a nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress in Greek mythology. By most accounts, she was the daughter of the sungod Helios, and Perse, an Oceanid. Her brothers were Aeetes, keeper of the Golden Fleece, and Perses. Her sister was Pasiphaë, the wife of King Minos and mother of the Minotaur. Other accounts make her the daughter of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of potions and herbs. Through the use of these and a magic wand or a staff, she transformed her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals. Some say she was exiled to the solitary island of Aeaea by her subjects and her father Helios for killing her husband, the prince of Colchis. Later traditions tell of her leaving or even destroying the island and moving to Italy, where she was identified with Cape Circeo. Homer's Odyssey : In Homer's Odyssey, Circe is described as living in a mansion that stands in the middle of a clearing in a dense wood. Around the house prowled strangely docile lions and wolves, the drugged victims of her magic; they were not dangerous, and fawned on all newcomers. Circe worked at a huge loom. She invited Odysseus' crew to a feast of familiar food, a pottage of cheese and meal, sweetened with honey and laced with wine, but also laced with one of her magical potions and drunk from an enchanted cup. Thus so she turned them all into swine with her magic wand or staff after they gorged themselves on it. Only drunken Eurylochus, suspecting treachery from the outset, escaped to warn Odysseus and the others who had stayed behind at the ship. Odysseus set out to rescue his men, but was intercepted by the messenger god, Hermes, who had been sent by Athena. Hermes told Odysseus to use the holy herb moly to protect himself from Circe's wizardry and, having resisted it, to draw his sword and act as if he were to going to attack her. From there, Circe would ask him to bed, but Hermes advised caution, for even there the goddess would be treacherous. She would take his manhood unless he had her swear by the names of the gods that she would not. Odysseus followed Hermes' advice, freeing his men and then remained on the island for one year, feasting and drinking wine. According to Homer, Circe suggested two alternative routes to Odysseus to return to Ithaca: toward Planctae, the "Wandering Rocks", or passing between the dangerous Scylla and the whirlpool-like Charybdis, conventionally identified with the Strait of Messina. She also advised Odysseus to go to the Underworld and gave him directions. Later Greek literature : Towards the end of Hesiod's Theogony -1011ff, it is stated that Circe bore Odysseus three sons: Ardeas or Agrius; Latinus; and Telegonus, who ruled over the Tyrsenoi, that is the Etruscans. The Telegony, an epic now lost, relates the later history of the last of these. Circe eventually informed him who his absent father was and, when he set out to find Odysseus, gave him a poisoned spear. With this he killed his father unknowingly. Telegonus then brought back his father's corpse, together with Penelope and Odysseus' other son Telemachus, to Aeaea. After burying Odysseus, Circe made the others immortal. According to Lycophron's Alexandra and John Tzetzes' scholia on the poem, however, Circe used magical herbs to bring Odysseus back to life after he had been killed by Telegonus. Odysseus then gave Telemachus to Circe's daughter Cassiphone in marriage. Some time later, Telemachus had a quarrel with his mother-in-law and killed her; Cassiphone then killed Telemachus to avenge her mother's death. On hearing of this, Odysseus died of grief. In the 3rd century BC epic, the Argonautica, Apollonius Rhodius relates that Circe purified the Argonauts for the death of Absyrtus, maybe reflecting an early tradition. In this poem, the animals that surround her are not former lovers transformed but primeval ‘beasts, not resembling the beasts of the wild, nor yet like men in body, but with a medley of limbs. Three ancient plays about Circe have been lost: the work of the tragedian Aeschylus and of the 4th century BC comic dramatists Ephippus of Athens and Anaxilas. The first told the story of Odysseus' encounter with Circe. Vase paintings from the period suggest that Odysseus' half-transformed animal-men formed the chorus in place of the usual Satyrs. Fragments of Anaxilas also mention the transformation and one of the characters complains of the impossibility of scratching his face now that he is a pig. Latin literature : The theme of turning men into a variety of animals was elaborated by later writers, especially in Latin. In the Aeneid, Aeneas skirts the Italian island where Circe now dwells, and hears the cries of her many victims, who now number more than the pigs of earlier accounts: The roars of lions that refuse the chain, The grunts of bristled boars, and groans of bears, And herds of howling wolves that stun the sailors' ears. Ovid's Metamorphoses collects more transformation stories in its 14th book. The fourth episode covers Circe's encounter with Ulysses (lines 242-307). The first episode in that book deals with the story of Glaucus and Scylla, in which the enamoured sea-god seeks a love filtre to win Scylla's love, only to have the sorceress fall in love with him. When she is unsuccessful, she takes revenge on her rival by turning Scylla into a monster (lines 1-74). The story of the Latin king Picus is told in the fifth episode (and also alluded to in the Aeneid). Circe fell in love with him too; when he preferred to remain faithful to his wife Canens, she turned him into a woodpecker (lines 308-440). The gens Mamilia - described by Titus Livius as one of the most distinguished families of Latium - claimed descent from Mamilia, a granddaughter of Odysseus and Circe through Telegonus. One of the most well-known of them was Octavius Mamilius (died 498 BC), princeps of Tusculum and son-in-law of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus the seventh and last king of Rome.

Creator:
Louis Hottot (Sculptor)
Dimensions:
Height: 21.26 in (54 cm)Width: 10.63 in (27 cm)Depth: 9.06 in (23 cm)
Style:
Classical Greek (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Late 19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1880-1890
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Fine condition. Little scratches because age and use.
Seller Location:
Saint Ouen, FR
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU173626920243