Small French Secretaire Marble Bois de Rose France Late 1800s - French

19th Century marble sculpture representing a roman matron; the figure stands on the left leg and is wearing a long robe that leaves her breast free; the left arm is hidden by the cloth and is folted while in the opposite hand she is holding a corrispondence. Her face is austere with a pointed chin; her hair har divided by a central parting and collected in a bun behind her head.

The bust portrays a noble woman, richly dressed. Certainly a portrait, as can be seen from the detailed physiognomic characteristics of the face; the depicted subject has a stern gaze and attitude, an element that characterizes the portrait sculpures of the time. The hair are tied on the back of her head in an elaborate hairstyle with braids. The neck is adorned with a necklace with a medallion in the centre and multiple strings of pearls. She is wearing an off-the-shoulder dress, refined with a thin lace hem and a bow in the middle of her chest. The sculptor has great skills with the use of a chisel to refine details and the texture of fabrics.