Wax Mannequin Bust Late 19th Early 20th Century

Rare wax bust or mannequin with impressively realistic sculptural rendering. The face turned to the right, slightly bent forward, is characterized by red lips and marked eyebrows that define a decidedly realistic appearance. Ivory-colored wax, glass eyes. Between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, mannequins were made of wax because they were more similar to flesh, from the 1920s onwards they were made with other types of materials. Wax modeling is an ancient wax processing technique. Used in the funerary, devotional and portrait fields in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Wax offers infinite modeling possibilities compared to other materials, it can be molded or melted and combined with other materials such as hair, hair or teeth. Given the perishability of the material, wax works are quite rare. The work is in good condition compatible with the age and state of use.
It bears the signature A. Costa Milano.

Dimensions H cm. 63 L cm. 40