Antique Bronze Female Figure Sculpture, Signed Nana, Modernist Nude with Dish — Mid-20th Century

The simplified female figure — elongated, abstracted, recognisably human but freed from anatomical literalism — was one of the defining sculptural achievements of the modernist movement. Where the nineteenth century had demanded accurate musculature and faithful portraiture, the twentieth found that reduction could carry as much feeling as detail: a tilted head, a narrowed waist, the slight forward lean of a figure in thought. The best examples in bronze from the mid-century period hold this balance without tipping into decoration on one side or cold geometry on the other.

This figure is mid-twentieth century, signed Nana on the underside, cast in bronze with a warm brown patina that has deepened evenly across the surface. The form is a standing female nude, the silhouette deliberately elongated — the neck long, the torso narrowed, the legs merging at the base into an integral oval plinth — with the head inclined slightly forward in a pose that reads as contemplative rather than presentational. The arms extend forward to hold a small shallow dish at waist height, the functional detail that gives the piece its particular character: a figure that is both sculpture and object, existing between the two categories. Note how the patina darkens in the recesses of the arms and the hollow of the waist while remaining warm and bright on the high points of the shoulder and skull — the natural depth that accumulates over decades and cannot be convincingly replicated on a new casting.

Whoever kept this before you gave it a good life. The patina is consistent and attractive; the casting is sound; the base sits flat. It stands well on a desk, a shelf, or a side table — the kind of piece that holds a room's attention without demanding it.

It arrives professionally packed and fully insured. All duties and import charges are our responsibility — you pay nothing beyond the listed price. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

DETAILS:
Size: Height 34 cm (13.4 in)
Material: bronze, warm brown patina
Style/Period: modernist, mid-20th century — signed Nana
Weight: 960 g (2.1 lb)
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — all import duties paid by us, nothing to settle on delivery
Condition: good; even warm patina throughout; casting sound; base sits flat
Returns: accepted within 30 days

Read our condition standard. Please ask if you need additional photographs or measurements.

Worldwide delivery is included in the price. Every piece is individually packed, tracked and fully insured. No shipping charge is added at checkout. If your destination is not listed, please contact us before ordering.

Maison Jaspers pays US tariffs and import duties. For other destinations, local import taxes and duties may apply and are payable by the recipient. Contact us before ordering if you need destination-specific guidance.

Dispatch timing is shown above. Transit time depends on your destination.

Delivery information

Notify us within 30 days of delivery if you wish to return a piece. No reason is required. You pay return shipping for a change-of-mind return.

Return instructions and your consumer rights