Lady with a Book

The figure sits half-turned, the open book steadied on her knee by the left hand while the right opens outward. Her bodice is raspberry, the puffed lilac sleeves are edged in gold, and a grey-pink plume is pinned into the piled hair. Gold scrollwork and small painted posies run across the wide folds of the skirt. Cut roses, a carnation and greenery rest on the stone ledge at her side, above a white base finished with a gilt curl.