Monumental patinated and gilt bronze Orientalist sculpture

This monumental and magnificent sculpture is crafted from patinated and gilt bronze (ormolu) and features some subtle malachite accents. The overall style is distinctly Orientalist, granting the piece charming and exotic qualities. The piece is decidedly of the Belle Époque, the grandeur of the period reflected in the grand scale of this work.

The sculpture represents a life-size female figure who stands in delicate contrapposto, her left arm draped by her side and her right held over her head. The figure is garbed in beautiful, flowing clothing, reminiscent of Classical Greek ‘wet drapery’—the drapery cast with wonderful texturing, and the subsequent patination lending an additional sense of depth and variety. Her figure is parcel gilt on occasion: the sash about her waist features gilt elements, likewise with necklace and headdress that she wears. In her left hand she holds an ormolu mirror, while in her right she grasps an ormolu candelabrum—the candelabrum itself highly ornate in its scrolling, foliate construction, issuing six branches. She wears a headdress across her forehead—the band parcel gilt—which is adorned with a series of exquisite malachite beads.

The figure stands on an ormolu three-leg podium, the gilt base beautifully accenting the figure’s parcel gilt features and complementing the candelabrum she holds above her head.

Sculpture: Height 230cm, width 53cm, depth 50cm
Pedestal: Height 31cm, width 51cm, depth 51cm
Total height: 261cm