L'Inconnue de la Seine

Vintage porcelain mask, matte finish.

H: 14cm

L'Inconnue de la Seine (the unknown woman of the Seine) was an unidentified young woman whose body was pulled from the Seine River in the late 1880's. Because she could not be identified, a death mask was made, as was customary at the time. The young woman's ethereal smile and delicate beauty added to the mystery of her death. Her death mask became a popular fixture on the walls of artists' homes after 1900. Her visage was the inspiration for numerous literary works. In later years the face of the unknown woman would be used on the CPR first-aid mannequin, "Resusci Anne"