France, late 17th-early 18th century Pair of allegorical busts in Tonnerre stone representing two young women In Tonnerre stone Each wearing a tunic with a supple, rhythmic drape fixed to their shoulders by a fibula; resting on a scagliola column in imitation pink marble and gilded bronze. Dimensions (busts) : H.50 cm (19 ¾ in.) ; L. : 45 cm (17 ¾ in.) ; H. (columns): 140.5 cm (55 ¼ in.) Provenance: Château de Bacalan, France ; Acquired from Galerie Sismann, Paris, on 7 April 2010. A pair of Tonnerre stone allegorical female busts, French, late 17th-early 18th century The busts were certainly part of a larger group of allegorical busts intended to adorn a garden or park. They are a perfect illustration of the development of the taste for imitating Antiquity in France during the reign of Louis XIV, a taste that came to be known as "classical" and that spread throughout Europe from the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 18th century.