Mannequin - Elegant Italian Vintage Female Mannequin Bust – Shop Display Late 1960s / Early 1970s - Plastic

Elegant and highly decorative vintage female mannequin bust, dating approximately from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, circa 1968–1972.
A particularly attractive example of the increasingly stylised shop-display mannequins that characterised the transition from the 1960s into the 1970s.
The bust has a beautifully sculptural silhouette, with an exceptionally elongated neck, elegant shoulders and carefully modelled facial features. The deliberately bald head allowed this type of mannequin to be used with different wigs, hats, scarves and fashion accessories, making it particularly versatile for boutiques, millinery shops and fashion displays.
One of the most unusual characteristics of this example is its textured synthetic outer finish. The rigid structure is covered with a closely adhering, slightly porous synthetic material that gives the surface a remarkably realistic skin-like appearance and texture, quite different from the smooth hard-plastic finish normally encountered on many vintage mannequin heads and busts.
The mannequin has been finished in a warm, deeply tanned skin tone, which appears to have been an intentional part of its original decorative treatment rather than a later alteration. This bronzed complexion creates a particularly attractive contrast with the dramatic make-up and is highly evocative of the glamorous fashion and beauty aesthetic of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Particularly characteristic is the hand-painted Mod-inspired make-up. The eyes are dramatically defined by dark painted lashes and eyebrows and enhanced with vivid turquoise-blue eyeshadow, while the lips are finished in a very pale, almost pearlescent shade.
The combination of the bronzed complexion, turquoise eye make-up, graphic eyebrows, pronounced eyelashes and pale lips gives the mannequin a distinctive late-1960s / early-1970s fashion appearance, closely associated with the bold visual language of the Mod and early Space Age period.
With its long neck, stylised proportions and sophisticated make-up, the bust was most likely conceived as a professional shop-display piece for presenting wigs, hats, jewellery, scarves or other fashion accessories.
The mannequin measures approximately 48 cm in height and 20 cm in width, with a circular base measuring approximately 15 cm in diameter. Its relatively large dimensions and elongated proportions give it considerable decorative presence.
Originally created as a functional commercial display object, today it can equally be appreciated as a decorative sculpture and as an evocative piece of vintage fashion and visual-merchandising history.
The mannequin remains highly decorative and displays very well. It shows signs of age and professional use consistent with its vintage character, including some surface marks and wear to the painted decoration. The underside shows cracking and localised deterioration of the outer covering around the base, with the underlying structure visible in places. This is predominantly situated underneath the bust and therefore has limited impact on its appearance when displayed.
Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the description and clearly illustrate the condition, surface texture and unusual construction of this fascinating vintage mannequin.
Period: late 1960s – early 1970s, circa 1968–1972
Type: female shop-display mannequin bust
Material: rigid synthetic/plastic structure with textured skin-like synthetic outer finish
Finish: warm, deeply tanned skin tone
Decoration: hand-painted facial features and Mod-inspired make-up
Height: approx. 48 cm
Width: approx. 20 cm
Base diameter: approx. 15 cm