Trafely Sardelli, Nude, Young Woman on a Bench, Late 19th Century, Alabaster

Details

Description

Subject: Young woman in a languid and mischievous pose, sitting on a bench with scrolled armrests. She is barefoot, wearing … Read more Subject: Young woman in a languid and mischievous pose, sitting on a bench with scrolled armrests. She is barefoot, wearing a light dress falling off one shoulder, typical of the bourgeois Belle Époque style of the late 1880s and early 1910s.

Material and technique: White Volterra alabaster. Entirely handcrafted, with polished leather. Two-piece base.

Dimensions: 32 x 18 cm, height 46 cm.

Period: Late 19th century
Who were Trafely and Sardelli / Trafeli and Sardelli

They are not a single sculptor, but a workshop—a partnership of two master alabaster workers from Volterra, active in the 19th century.

In Volterra, the historic capital of alabaster in Italy, by the late 19th century, hundreds of workshops were producing alabaster and marble sculptures for export. The "Trafeli e Sardelli" or "Trafelli e Sardelli" formula is one of those artistic enterprises halfway between craftsmanship and art, specializing in female figures, allegories and orientalist subjects. See less