Bust of a girl (Flora?)
Not on view
This ivory bust, with its beautifully rendered hair, is a tour-de-force in ivory carving. Sculpted out of a single tusk, the artist’s command of the precious medium is outstanding. The carver’s origin could be the seaport town of Dieppe in Normandy, one of the period’s creative centers of ivory sculpting. Dieppe was known throughout France and beyond for its longstanding tradition of ivory carving going back to the 17th century. The bust may represent Flora, the Roman goddess of flowering plants who is usually represented as a young woman wearing a crown-shaped floral arrangement similar in abundance to the flower crown on this bust.
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This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
