Woman Combing her Hair

Makerattributed to Barthélemy Prieur (French, 1536 - 1611)

ClassificationsSCULPTURE

Dateca. 1600

Mediumbronze

Dimensions5 1/2 in. (14 cm.) 10 × 4 × 4 1/2 in. (25.4 × 10.2 × 11.4 cm.) 5 1/2 in. (14 cm.)

DescriptionThis sculpture portrays a seated woman wringing out and combing her wet hair. It is an intimate and naturalistic composition that references ancient art and imagery of the goddess Venus.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextIn the second half of the 16th century, Prieur worked as court sculptor to Duke Emanuel-Philibert of Savoy and to King Henry IV of France. In addition to the celebratory and monumental bronzes he produced for these important patrons, he created a number of small figures of men and women engaged in domestic and other informal activities. These intimate bronzes must have appealed to a wide range of collectors, who would have appreciated their tactile charm. This group (17.8, 17.15-17.20) is one of the finest and largest of Prieur's small bronzes, which Henry Huntington acquired in 1917 from the collection of J.P. Morgan.

Object number17.19