Young woman in an antique sleepy pose, A.J Peiffer.

Young Woman in Antique Style Dozing, A.J. Peiffer.

Inspired by antiquity, this bronze is by the French artist Auguste Joseph Peiffer (1832-1886). It is a 19th-century cast of very fine quality, as evidenced by the chiseling and patina.

Peiffer was an artist accustomed to this type of subject. "Mythological and allegorical subjects, presented in the form of graceful female figurines, characterize the work of this student of Klagmann." Source: "Bronzes of the 19th Century" by Pierre Kjellberg, "Les Editions de l'Amateur."

The artist presents us with a young woman seated on an Etruscan armchair, her legs crossed, her head bowed. She is dozing, her hair perfectly styled, adorned with jewelry and wearing a beautifully pleated dress with Greek frieze braid. Her feet are shod in finely detailed sandals. Busy weaving, she has just fallen asleep. She still holds a distaff in her left hand, ready to fall, while another distaff lies on the ground. Sleep is synonymous with idleness, an allusion to the allegorical figure of Acedia, laziness, personified from the end of the 16th century by "a woman asleep near her distaff." This subject was taken up again in the 19th century, notably by Gustave Courbet in 1853 in his painting "The Sleeping Spinner." In this continuity, Peiffer realized this subject by associating it with the image of antiquity, which brings us back to the goddess Clotho, youngest of the three Moirai, she is the one who weaves the thread of life. It is up to her to choose each person's date of birth. Clotho is depicted holding a distaff and spinning the thread of life, the distaff symbolizing the beginning of life.

This work, whose eye is drawn to the magnificent work of its multi-pleated dress, is showcased on a thick base of antique sea green marble, molded with a large corbin beak. This base is independent of the sculpture, the latter resting on it.

All in perfect condition.

Sculpture dimensions alone:

Width: 33 cm

Depth: 16 cm

Height: 23 cm

Marble dimensions:

Thickness: 4 cm

Width: 45 cm

Depth: 24 cm

Ref: TPT1CYITSL