What we call chalkware in America, the Europeans, who invented it, named plaster of paris. It was an inexpensive medium in which to cast a huge array of decorative items priced for the middle class home. Gustave van Vaerenbergh worked in stone and metal and his female busts were elegant and desirable. From 1895 to 1927, he managed a studio employing up to twenty artists and craftsmen in Belgium.
In a sense, here is a modern woman. No angel or noblewoman, but the humble nursing student.
She has a sweet young face, at some angles she looks too young to be a nursing student. At other angles, she looks just old enough. Her dress is slipping off her shoulder a bit saucily but there is no playfulness in our girl, she is a serious student. I do not know when this piece was first sculpted but within the parameters of 1900 to 1927, I believe she was formed pre-WWI as anything after 1914 in Europe would not have this serene a demeanor.
The piece is not perfect. It has nicks and scratches around the face and hairline, all of which could be professionally restored, but none of which takes away from its attractiveness. There is a large patch of white under her right chin. Again, fixable. She has no major nicks, she has not been broken and glued. Her paint is really beautiful. There are so many pluses about this piece: designed by an important artist; it is antique (100+ years), it is in very good shape, she is an appealing subject; it portrays reading - to some people a sacred activity; and it is just plain good looking. Chalkware lovers should clear a space on the shelf.
New information: the tag on the bottom of the figure is "Roman Art Co. Inc, Robia ware, St. Louis, MO." The number 612 is penciled in.
According to an entry in an Etsy listing, completely unverified:
****The Roman Art Company was founded in 1907 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Robia Ware trademark was introduced in 1909 and was continued until the company's closure in 1974. The Roman Art Company was renowned for manufacturing porcelain animals and figurines, many of which were historical and/or religious in nature.
So: both studios were manufacturing this piece at the same time? Or, Van Vaerenbergh shipped to America from Belgium and Roman Art acted as an agent? Did Roman Art buy the mold? There is much more to the story of this beautiful bust.