This lissome lass' lithe form is framed by her swirling veil. The incredible modeling makes the bisque veil seem to undulate and the belle's draped dress to cling to her soft curves. Of excellent sharp bisque, this piece is about 10 inches high.
The back of the base is incised with the sunburst mark of Gebruder Heubach, a German company best known among collectors for its realistically modeled bisque dolls and figurines of rosy charming children.
However, there is certainly nothing childish about this deletable dancer's come hither glance.
The image appears to have been inspired by the American interpretative dancer Loie Fuller, pictured here in a 1902 photograph. Born in 1862, Fuller began on stage as a child actress, growing up to become an actress and a dancer. She experimented with flowing silk costumes and multicolored lighting, introducing her "Serpentine Dance" in 1891. Clad in a long dress consisting of multiple yards of thin silk, she held the ends of the skirt in her hands, waving and twisting it as she danced, creating spiraling forms as she exposed and concealed her body, while the changing colored lights suggested everything from flickering flames to ripples of water. In 1892, Fuller traveled to Europe, settling in France where she regularly performed at the Folies Berege. Fuller dancing amid her swirling veils became a popular image of the art nouveau movement.
