French Satirical Carved and Molded Red Wax Shadowbox Diorama, Early Nineteenth Century. Depicting two ladies staring out at the viewer, each holding a walking stick and standing on a small mound, attired in an eighteenth century gown molded with flowers and fringe and an elaborate hat, one wearing an enormous fashionable hairstyle called at the time "A la Belle Poule," with a model of a ship sailing atop her head, the interior sides of the box lined in gold, blue and black wallpaper, and the reverse painted glass framed in brown drapery; housed in the original lemon gold frame.H: 14.5 in., W: 16 in., D: 2.125 in.This diorama is possibly a satirical commentary on the hairstyles French women wore from the 1760's to the 1790's, with ever more ridiculous and monumental coiffeurs and hats. The elaborately constructed hat worn by the woman on the right may have been inspired by the lithograph "Coiffure a la Belle Poule," executed by an anonymous artist in commemoration of the victory of a French frigate over an English ship in 1778. The tall curled and powdered hair was stretched over a framework fastened to the top of a woman's head. The hair was then embellished with a large model of the "Belle Poule" ship, complete with sails and flags.

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14.5 x 16 x 2.125 in