A Nymphenburg white figure of Anselmo, circa 1760A Nymphenburg white figure of Anselmo, circa 1760Modelled by F.A. Bustelli, standing leaning on a stick, hunched forward slightly, bringing his left forefinger to his mouth in a silencing motion, wearing a hat, three-quarter length cape, lace collar, jacket and breeches, scroll-moulded base, 17.5cm high, impressed shield mark on top of base (finger and stick restored, section of base next to foot restuck)Provenance: European Private Collection since circa 1980Bustelli created 16 paired figures from the Commedia dell'Arte which appear in the factory's Inventory of Moulds in 1760. The source for this figure is a copperplate engraving by Martin Engelbrecht (dated to the mid 18th century, titled Sieur Geronte) a copy of which is known to have been in Bustelli's possession. Anselmo is depicted as an older man, soberly dressed, wearing a cape and holding his hat and cane. Bustelli animated his character and paired him with Corinne, the lady's maid who stands reading or singing aloud. His gesture to her hints at intrigue and may be to warn her to whisper or stop making a noise. Not much is known about the role of Anselmo, but some clues can be found in the dress and name of the figure as published by Engelbrecht. The clerical style of his hat and dress have led him to be named as the Abbé, or, as in the case of the Engelbrecht print 'Sieur [Seigneur] Géronte'. Géronte appears in Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin or Scapin the Schemer, a three-act comedy of intrique, first staged on 24 May 1671 in the theatre of the Palais Royal in Paris. In the play, Scapino taunts Géronte and asks 'Quoi! jé n'aurai pas l'abantage dé tuer cé Géronte? et quelqu'un, par charité, né m'enseignera pas où il est? [What! I won't have the privilege of killing that Geronte? and someone, out of pity, will not tell me where he is?], and an exasperated Géronte answers: Ah! Scapin, je n'en puis plus. [Ah! Scapin, I can't take it anymore.]Two other examples of this rare model, one decorated in black enamel and another in the white are in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum , Munich, and are illustrated by Katharina Hantschmann, Alfred Ziffer, Franz Anton Bustelli, Nymphenburger Porzellanfiguren des Rokoko, Exhibition Catalogue, 24 November 2004 - 13 March 2005 Munich, 2004, pp. 306 and 307. For another example of the figure see R. Rückert, Bustelli Munich, 1963, pl. 40. Another Anselmo is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.The most recent example of this rare figure to have been sold at auction appeared at Christie's London, 6 November 2008, lot 290, from a South German private collection.