Bust of a Woman

One of the most beautiful sculptures in the Wallace Collection, this marble bust shows a young woman with hair tied up, wearing a tunic and a headdress to which a posy of flowers is attached. She is full of elegance and dignity, and her allure is enhanced through her direct, but slightly dreamy stare. It is a realistic portrait with a strong sense of individuality rather than the more common seventeenth-century busts of Black people, which emphasise the heroic or the exotic, and do not attempt to portray real people. Sadly, the identity of this woman has not yet been established.