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Bust of a Woman
Augustin Pajou (French, 1730–1809)
French
dated 177(4?)
Object Place: Europe, France
Medium/Technique
Cast terracotta with a plaster fill
Dimensions
Overall (without socle): 20 x 16.8 cm (7 7/8 x 6 5/8 in.)
Other (with socle): 36.8 cm (14 1/2 in.)
Other (with socle): 36.8 cm (14 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Forsyth Wickes—The Forsyth Wickes Collection
Accession Number65.2218
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionA young woman wears her long hair pulled back from her face in a roll that is held in place with a band. One long curl falls over her left shoulder, and a wide meche falls down her back. A rose and other flowers are placed in her hair at her left temple. Her features are smooth and regular with incised eyes and a cupid's bow mouth. She wears drapery around her shoulders with a band over her right shoulder and between her breasts. The loose drapery falls over her left breast, leaving her right breast exposed.
InscriptionsSigned and dated upper right edge of truncation, inscribed in the clay before firing: Pajou.f.177(4?)
Provenance1937, David David-Weill (b. 1871 - d. 1952), Paris and Neuilly-sur-Seine, France; 1937, sold by David-Weill to Wildenstein and Company, New York [see note 1]; May 18, 1940, sold by Wildenstein to Forsyth Wickes (b. 1876 - d. 1964), New York and Newport, RI [see note 2]; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 24, 1965)
NOTES:
[1] See "Sale of the David-Weill Collection," Art News, February 27, 1937, pp. 12, 20.
[2] Sold as a portrait of "Madame Olivier".
NOTES:
[1] See "Sale of the David-Weill Collection," Art News, February 27, 1937, pp. 12, 20.
[2] Sold as a portrait of "Madame Olivier".