Pair Of Terracotta Sphinxes, Valentin Sonneschein, 18th Century

Pair of terracotta sphinxes facing each other, one of them holding an open book on which we can read in French the famous riddle placed at the entrance to Thebes:
"What is the animal that has four legs in the morning, two at noon and three in the evening?". A riddle that Oedipus solved, which saved him from being strangled and devoured by this animal. 
The sphinx is a mythical animal with the body of a lioness with wings and the head of a woman.
Attributed to the sculptor Valentin Sonnenschein.
Born in Stuttgart in 1749, he died in Bern in 1828.
Court stucco artist (1771), professor at the Karlsschule (military academy) in Stuttgart (1773). Poor working conditions led him to seek refuge in Zurich in 1775, where he designed for the Gesellschaft auf dem Kunstsaal, the newly founded art academy; he also produced designs for the Kilchberg-Schooren porcelain factory and executed the stuccoes for the Zum Kiel house. Appointed drawing master at the new art school in Bern in 1779, he worked there until 1815. He was one of the leading ornamentalists of the Rococo-Neoclassicism transition; he mainly sculpted mythological figures, busts and commemorative statuettes in terracotta of great finesse of execution.

Very beautiful terracotta from the Louis XVI period, in very good general condition. A small chip on one at the level of the hair.
Beautiful 19th century bases in wood and silk velvet.

From a Parisian decorator collection. 

Dimensions of terracotta height 19x21x9 cm
Dimensions with the base height 28x29x17 cm