This superb Art Nouveau spelter statuette was salvaged from a mantle clock. It is signed on the side, Rosseau for Victor Rosseau (1865-1954).
Note the small plaque on the base "L'ART". Victor Rousseau (1865-1954), was an Art Nouveau sculptor from Belgium. This spelter statuette depicts a woman with flowers in her hair holding a document in Latin reading "Albo lapillo notare diem", more on that below. Her left foot rests on a book with the inscription "Scientia ARS" which means "knowledge".
"Albo lapillo notare diem" translates to "Mark the day with white Stone". The story is as follows; Romans marked each day with a colored stone: white for a happy day, black for an unlucky one. At the end of the day, the master of the house would decide what sort of day it had been, and choose a stone of the appropriate color. He would then place it in an urn reserved for this purpose.
At the end of the month, he would take out all the stones and judge what kind of month it had been.
Condition and patina consistent with age.
Approx. overall 13½" high x 8" x 6¼"
Approx. overall 34cm high x 20cm x 16cm
