Figural group - Courtship

porcelain, enamel paint, gilt, bisque;
minor losses of lace costume elements and sapling foliage, thread crack on underside of base;
H 31 cm; base 28.5 x 23.5 cm (oval);
Signed in cob. under glaze: two crossed dashes crossed at the line of intersection, engraved: 39, 2
Germany - Thuringia? or Paris - Edme Samson?, 19th/20th c.
On an oval base with gilded rocaillas a park scene - a group of 3 figures in 18th century costumes. Sitting on a bench is a couple: a man in a wig with a bow and floral tailcoat folds his hands in a beseeching gesture and turns towards a lady in a lace cap and dress with halves trimmed with lace, raising her hand in a gesture of denial. Between the trees behind the bench stands a lady in a bonnet and a tulle gown, listening to the couple with her hand raised in a gesture of warning. On the marbled column next to the bench is a bisque sculpture of a seated Cupid with a quiver. The group refers to the late 18th century Meissen compositions by Acier and Schönheit of narrative and moralizing character.