Bust of a Woman

Artisan: Andrea Arrigoni (Big Man Small World)
Date: 2022
Dimensions: 48 x 36 x 19 mm. / 1 ⅞ x 1 ½ x ¾ inches (height x width x depth)
Inventory number: 2022.201
Intended Room: Parlour or Gallery
Category: Sculpture

Provenance: Purchased from the artist’s Etsy shop in June 2022

This charming bust has a blend of classical and Renaissance influences, but is entirely plausible as a romanticised 19th century sculpture. There’s something positively Pre-Raphaelite about her. The young woman’s hair and gown have been washed in a soft ochre, giving a contrast to the paleness of her skin; she could easily pass for a terracotta bust. She may end up in the Gallery, alongside Renaissance art, sculpture and ceramics, as an idealised portrait of Dante’s Beatrice or Petrarch’s Laura – but she could equally well sit in the Parlour, to be enjoyed by the family in private.

Isn’t she a dream?