I purchased this one from an antiques shop in southern Maine that has been the source of many an interesting thing, and she just called to me. I take her as an iteration of a "veiled lady"--a subject that became popular in marble sculpture in the 18th century and reached a height of popularity in the form of veiled vestal virgins in the mid to late 19th c.; I had a Grand Tour example a year of two ago. There was a strong connection between these veiled ladies and the Italian unification movement (Risorgimento)--with obfuscated features, she represented a sort of ideal akin to Lady Liberty or Britannia. This one, with her long, extended arm, certainly does seem to nod to Lady Liberty, as if raising a lantern, a beckoning beacon. In her veiled, draped fullness and the gesture of her head and other arm, she also seems both motherly and sorrowful, absorbing the weight of the world. I believe she is more contemporary than antique, but unsigned, and everything about her feels rather elusive
18 1/8" t (top of arm. 16" tall at head); x 10" w on the square x 4 1/8" d at base. Weighs just over 25 pounds. Very good condition, no chips or cracks anywhere, just some yellowing to the white marble at her her skirt, as documented.
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