Rare pair of statuettes “Field workers in America”

Pair of statuettes standing on a moulded, gilt bronze plinth with a black varnished patina, representing a couple of young slaves from North America, facing one another, and carrying a fruit basket and a vase with flowers on their shoulders.
The artist has embellished the lips in red and the depths of the eyes in white to make the sculptures appear more real and natural.
The work is inspired by the novel Paul et Virginie written by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in 1788.

Figures in the style of Charles Cumberworth (1811-1852).
French work from the mid-19th century.
Edition manufacture Susse Frères, between 1850-1860.
Signed Susse Fres.

References: Louvre collection, statuette entitled “Marie à la fontaine”, inventory number LP 278.
Exhibition at the town hall in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, 1898. Reproduced on pages 74 and 78 of the exhibition catalogue.