In the second half of the 16th century, Prieur worked as court sculptor to Duke Emanuel-Philibert of Savoy and to King Henry IV of France. In addition to the celebratory and monumental bronzes he produced for these important patrons, he created a number of small figures of men and women engaged in domestic and other informal activities. These intimate bronzes must have appealed to a wide range of collectors, who would have appreciated their tactile charm. This group (17.8, 17.15-17.20) is one of the finest and largest of Prieur's small bronzes, which Henry Huntington acquired in 1917 from the collection of J.P. Morgan.
