An 18th century reproduction terracotta bust of a young female child (Jeune Fille à la natte) by Atelier Jacques-Francois-Joseph Saly. Signed SALY./ MADE IN FRANCE. The marble bust is exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum London.Jacques François Joseph Saly also known as Jacques Saly (20 June 1717 – 4 May 1776) was a famous French-born sculptor who worked in France Denmark Italy and Malta.He began his training as a sculptor at nine years of age under local master Antoine Gilles in Valenciennes from 1726-1727. In spite of his parents' meager income he was sent to Paris in 1732 to train in the studio of the leading sculptor at Paris Guillaume Coustou. At the same time he attended the school of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture winning medals in 1734 1737 and 1738. Winning that last medal first place in the Prix de Rome competition gave him the right to study at the French academy at Rome at the time the single mainstream route to a successful official career as a sculptor in Paris.Notes: signed Saly stamped made in France