Antique French Art Nouveau Cast Iron Bust of a Bonneted Coquette, Signed Jacobs

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Antique French Art Nouveau Cast Iron Bust of a Bonneted Coquette, Signed Jacobs

The heavy morning fog was still rising … Read more Antique French Art Nouveau Cast Iron Bust of a Bonneted Coquette, Signed Jacobs

The heavy morning fog was still rising off the gravel paths when we first spotted her. She was tucked into the back corner of a sprawling open-air stall at a bustling marché aux puces in France’s Loire Valley. Among rusted farm tools and weathered architectural salvage, her silhouette stood completely apart. We knew at once she was something special.

She has the grand, romantic air of a classical garden goddess, but this late 19th-century beauty is a secular portrait of a stylish “Coquette,” a fashionable young bourgeois lady of the Belle Époque. She is signed "Jacobs" in script on the shoulder drapery, with the signature repeated at the back. Cast in heavy cast iron, her face has an exquisite, mysterious charm, with a gentle, side-glancing half-smile. She wears a low draped bodice and a grand ruffled fabric bonnet, with ribbon ties and curls falling at each cheek.

Years of outdoor life have given her a weathered, deeply textured surface. Her surface carries a rich, authentic patina of natural oxidation and remnants of old paint layers. The small metal flowers that once sat in her headdress have gone missing, and we think that loss only adds to her storied romance. True beauty deepens with age.

A substantial statement piece, ready to bring a touch of Parisian garden history to your sunroom, terrace, or entryway.

Details & Dimensions
Maker: Signed “Jacobs” (script signature on shoulder drapery and back)
Style: Art Nouveau / Belle Époque
Place of Origin: France
Period: Late 19th Century (circa 1895)
Materials: Hand-Cast Iron
Condition: Very Good Antique Condition. Structurally sound, with no cracks or repairs. Shows age-appropriate surface weathering, rust, and paint loss with paint remnants. Small floral attachments on the headdress are missing, as is typical for outdoor castings of this age.
Dimensions: 22.0" H × 12.0" W × 8.0" D See less