Sculpture, Estasi di Santa Teresa - 25 cm - Earthenware

Head of Saint Teresa in Ecstasy – Terracotta – Italy, 19th century

An interesting terracotta sculpture depicting a female figure captured in an intense moment of mystical abandonment. The face tilts upward, the eyes seem to roam beyond earthly space, and the mouth, slightly parted, accentuates the emotional and spiritual character of the composition.

The rendering of the face and the drapery clearly recalls the iconography of Saint Teresa’s Ecstasy, made famous by the great Italian Baroque tradition and, in particular, by the popularity of the Bernini model. The work seems to reinterpret that language in an eighteenth/ nineteenth-century key, maintaining a strong expressive tension and a marked theatrical sense.

The terracotta shows an aged surface, with patina, abrasions, deposits and slight losses coherent with the age of the piece. The irregularities of the modeling and finish contribute to the authentic charm of the artifact.

Period: 19th century
Origin: Italy, attribution
Material: terracotta
Subject: Saint Teresa in Ecstasy, iconographic attribution
Dimensions: approximately H 25 × L 30 × P 15 cm
Condition: good for its age, with natural signs of time, wear and small losses visible in the photograph.

A sculpture of great expressive force and dramatic presence, particularly suitable for a sacred art collection, Italian sculpture of the 19th century, or an environment of eclectic and antique taste.