18th Century Decorative Arts - Great Hall Costume Corridor Level 2, NGV International
Physical description
Figure of a woman standing on a rectangular plinth with her left leg forward, her left arm by her side and her right arm vertical as if holding the basket on her head. The arms are attached by short dowel rods. On her head she carries a basket with a flat, square base and four sides that taper down to the base. She wears a tight fitting dress which begins just below her chest and is held by two shoulder straps and two other straps which cross on the front and hang down the back. The crossing straps are painted brown, as is the band around the top of the dress. The dress and two shoulder straps are cream, outlined in black. She wears a wig in a short bob style at the front but which hangs down the back to the centre of her back. The basket on her head is cream with a black square design around it and the plinth is painted black on top and reddish brown around the sides. Her facial features are well preserved, the nose and the mouth being carved and the eyes and eyebrows painted in black.
The figure and plinth are wooden, covered in a layer of gesso and painted, although areas of gesso and paint have worn/flaked off both.