Object Description
Antique 19th Century Italian sculpture of a sleeping child
Italian, 19th Century
Height 44cm, width 72cm, depth 30cm
This wonderful Italian sculpture is carved from white marble. The sculpture depicts a young child asleep atop a bed: the child’s arms lay limp, one above the head, one by the side, while the legs lay outstretched. The light clothing the child wears is deftly carved, as is the bed indented by the child’s weight: the tassel-edged embroidered sheet is kinked with perfectly believable creases, the sculptor fooling our eye into believing that hard marble is soft fabric. The work is a superb example of Italian craftsmanship.