Featured Marble statue - standing woman - origin and age?

The things that show up in my local thrift sometimes...my second stone carving in as many days - but this one I think is European perhaps.

This lovely marble lady is 12" (30cm) tall including the base. The statue appears to be glued to the base sections as there is not a bolt or hardware holding them together. She is carved fairly well - not particularly detailed, but competently enough to be pleasing to the eye. She has a few little flea bite dings here and there - the largest of which is unfortunately on her hair towards the front - but not terribly noticeable.

My main question is - where and when was she made? Appears to me to have at least a bit of age. Early 20th souvenir type carving? Or perhaps a bit earlier in the Victorian era? Or I'm way off base?


Thanks for taking the time to look!

 

Why does she have a slightly 'burned' look to her, here and there, or has she just NOT had a bath yet???? Otherwise, she's very 'sleek' and nice looking........

 

She has not had a bath yet (even though she appears to be toweling off) and my lights really brought out the dirty areas. I don't know if it's nicotine stain or something more easily removed, going to try some gentle cleaning tomorrow.

 

Oh , you frisky southern critter you !!!
A Southern Gentleman might cover up more than just her posterior !!!

It could be Italian marble though...

 

I'm thinking Italian marble too - and if she's Italian - drying off nude at the beach is no big deal at all!

 

JMHO, but I think she is too sleek and stylized to be any earlier than Art Deco vintage. That’s just the vibe I get, especially from the way the hair is carved

 

the hair is not much more than a blob afterthought...

 

Be careful cleaning her - several household cleaners (fantastik for example) can damage carrara marble. (if that's what she is)

 

Just the overall appearance + this place



and this place



make me think she is cast in one of those sophisticated reconstituted marble type materials. The base looks like stone, perhaps missing a red felt pad on the bottom. Advice to be careful about cleaning still stands.

 

She is really beautiful, Aaron. Pity she isn't signed.
With this kind of stylization she looks 1920s-30s to me.
She could have been made anywhere, since Italian marble and alabaster were exported, but my hunch is Continental Europe. She could even speak with a Dutch accent. If she should happen to be Dutch, I would lean towards the very early years of my time frame.

Here is an article from the V&A site on cleaning marble:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/cleaning-marble/
Be very careful with her. She could be alabaster, which is even more delicate.

 

I found that article when I was looking for guidance on cleaning a piece of mine. Left me terrified of touching her!



I should add that although she is carved marble, she is still a copy of a sculpture by Francis Chantrey.

 

She is lovely, Bronwen. I would leave her as she is. I would also leave Aaron's beauty as she is, but that's just me.

 

Agree those spots kind of look like casting imperfections .. but, they are all surface damage as far as I can tell...little dings/ chips per se. I've seen cast stone objects before and to me this doesn't have the same feel...I could be wrong though of course. As far as cleaning... I'm probably not going to do any more than a gentle dabbing with a slightly moistened cotton pad w distilled water. I'll look over the article that AJ linked to, but won't try anything without seeking more advice first.

 

Also @Bronwen , your statue is precious!

 

Thanks so much AJ I'll probably never know exactly where from but continental makes sense. Agree she could be alabaster vs marble ( the more I look at her, she's also a bit more translucent than I think marble would be, which is making me lean towards alabaster too.

 

The dings also look like alabaster dings, that powdery gypsum look.
They are minor, and she still looks beautiful.

 

The article on cleaning marble also has info on alabaster - and the only thing it mentions is safe for both(marble and alabaster) is white spirits so - I happen to have some - I tried a tiny bit in one of the browner spots - and - it had no effect whatsoever - so I'm just going to leave her as is.

 

Hi,
An easy way to tell alabaster from marble. Put a drop of white vinegar on a fresh scratch if it bubbles it is marble if it does not "fizz it is alabaster. Marble is calcium carbonate
alabaster is calcium sulfate. Be sure to rinse off the vinegar as soon as possible.
greg