This bathing beauty is actually the top of a very big powder box. Standing 10 inches tall, she is made of ceramic and decorated in a bold art deco style.
If the pose appears familiar, the belle on the box is borrowed from the
Bath of Psyche by Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-1896). Leighton did a bit of borrowing himself, as the pose of Psyche is based on an ancient statue of Venus he had seen in Naples. The Roman poet Lucius Apuleius sets out the legend of Psyche in his work
The Golden Ass or
Metamorphosis. Psyche was a beautiful mortal woman who became the paramour of Cupid.
A round paper label on the bottom of the box announces that it was made in France. Both the bottom of the box and the lid are incised "14029 R."
This bathing beauty is actually the top of a very big powder box. Standing 10 inches tall, she is made of ceramic and decorated in a bold art deco style.
If the pose appears familiar, the belle on the box is borrowed from the Bath of Psyche by Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-1896). Leighton did a bit of borrowing himself, as the pose of Psyche is based on an ancient statue of Venus he had seen in Naples. The Roman poet Lucius Apuleius sets out the legend of Psyche in his work The Golden Ass or Metamorphosis. Psyche was a beautiful mortal woman who became the paramour of Cupid.
A round paper label on the bottom of the box announces that it was made in France. Both the bottom of the box and the lid are incised "14029 R."
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