Seated Young Woman, Terra-cotta Sculpture, Signed LB carrying basket a bird of paradise

a bird of paradise

One tiny split in the wood on one side at the tip of the handle

I found this wonderful box at an estate sale in MA in a modest house packed to the gills with a long lifetime's accumulation

There is a bit of pitting and greening to the brass

I worried a good amount about the condition of things

Seated Young Woman, Terra-cotta Sculpture, Signed LB carrying basket a bird of paradiseThis really lovely seated terra cotta woman with a terrific presence screams WPA era to me, but I don't know for sure, and have not been able to trace what appears to be LB signed on the back of her base. I love her poised, almost stoically serene posture and expression, imparting her with a sense of quiet, gentle strength, but also how this is contrasted by the manner in which her hands grip the sides of pedestal upon which she sits, to my eye at