Aimé Jules Dalou

This precisely modelled terracotta statuette depicts a young woman who is reading intently and smiling with pleasure. Attired in a fashionable dressing gown, she rests comfortably on a fringed chaise longue, typical of the furnishings to be found in a lady’s sitting room. In theme and scale this work belongs to a series of small sculptures of women engaged in domestic activities that Jules Dalou created while working in London in the 1870s. The charming subject, combined with the fresh appearance of unglazed terracotta rendered with refined technique, would have appealed to collectors who enjoyed depictions of modern life.