Franz von Stuck - a late 19th century German plated cast alloy nautilus cup, attributed to WMF, finely cast as the standing Cupid supporting a large nautilus cup surmounted by another cherub, raised on a tortoise base, bearing 'EP' stamp to underside, height 47cm. Note: Von Ostini records that the Nautilus was one of the first sculptural works created by Stuck, pre-dating the Glaspalast exhibition in Munich in 1892 (when he displayed the famous Athlet) and finding its origins in two illustrations that Stuck designed in the 1880s: firstly a drawing for the Allegorien und Embleme portfolio published by Gerlach & Schenk, Vienna 1882/84, vol. 2, no. 82; and secondly for a calendar illustration for the month of October published in the Fliegende Blatter, 1889, no. 2306. Stuck himself owned a bronze version of the present model, which mounted a real nautilus shell and appears as a prop in some of his paintings. It stood on his living-room cabinet until 1909 (see Bierbaum, op. cit., p. 79).