White marble Odalisque from the Art Deco period

Base dimensions: 63cm x 22cm x 3cm (24.80 in x 8.66 in x 1.18 in)

Overall dimensions: W: 65cm, D: 22cm, H: 40cm.
Overall dimensions: W: 25,6in, D: 8,7in, H: 15,7in.

THE FIGURE OF THE ODALISQUE IN ART

Odalisques are virgin slaves of the Ottoman seraglio. They were offered to the various women of the Sultan’s harem as chambermaids. The figure of the odalisque proposed by Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1814 is a source of inspiration for this type of production from the mid-nineteenth century. Indeed, it is these attributes (fan, cushion, turban hairstyle…) and this posture with folded legs that will be remembered and found in the representation of lodalisque. In the imagination of Western artists, the figure of the odalisque is most often associated with a fantasy world of sensuality and pleasure, where women from harems lounge naked in their homes or at the baths. Throughout the 19th century, the taste for the Orient encouraged the representation of these odalisques in painting or literature. However, sculptures illustrate this theme much less often and our white marble statuette is a rare example.