The Toilette of Venus last quarter 18th century After a sculpture attributed to Etienne-Maurice Falconet French By the middle of the eighteenth century, French clockcases were often related to sculpture and to the smaller decorative arts of the period. This clock, with a sculptural group titled the Toilette of Venus, depicts the goddess seated at a circular table and attended by a handmaiden, who can probably be identified as Flora. Cupid reclines at the foot of the table and points to the time, which appears on the revolving chapter rings that are set within the side of the table. The model for this small sculptural group has long been attributed to Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791) on the basis of the resemblance of the attending figure to Falconets marble Bather of 1757. The Bather was modeled in miniature and produced in biscuit porcelain by the Sévres Manufactory, where a number of other porcelains were made from models supplied by Falconet. Falconet also made models of playfu