This terracotta, made by Aimé-Jules Dalou in ca. 1874, is inscribed on the base with the nursery rhyme 'Hush a bye baby on the tree top, / When the bough bends the cradle will rock.' It was shown at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1874. It is a study for the marble group entitled The Rocking Chair made for the Duke of Westminster. Signed and dated '1875', the marble group was shown at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1876 under the title La Berceuse. It remains in the collection of the Dukes of Westminster.

Dalou (1838-1902) was the son of a glove maker and initially trained in drawing at the Petit École in Paris. There he was encouraged to do sculpture. In 1854 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, where he trained for four years. He was known for his left-wing political sympathies and was involved in the establishment of the Paris Commune in 1871. After his overthrow he was forced into exile in London, where he lived from 1871 until his return to Paris in 1879. In London he frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy and he was given a teaching appointment at the National Art Training School in South Kensington (later the Royal College of Art), where he had a profound effect on the development of British sculpture.