The Reaper (Le Moissonneur) 1748 - 1759

Crafted by the Vincennes Manufactory, this porcelain figurine presents a young boy posed as a reaper, complete with a sickle and sheaf of wheat. The sheaf, an ancient symbol of harvest and abundance, carries echoes of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, whose cornucopia overflowed with nature’s bounty. Consider the sickle, its crescent shape reminiscent of the moon. From the scythe of Chronos, used to castrate his father, Uranus, to its presence in depictions of Father Time, this curved blade is laden with associations of cutting, reaping, and the inexorable march of time. Observe how the motif of the harvest, deeply embedded in our collective memory, resurfaces in various guises across time and cultures, reminding us of our perpetual cycle of sowing, reaping, and reckoning. This innocent porcelain figure serves as a poignant reminder of the underlying forces of life, death, and renewal.