Vintage New Orleans Vargas Black Americana Wax Carving Folk Art Woman 8\" Figure For Sale

This belonged to my great grandmother but we didn\'t know anything about it when she was alive. My mother and I have since done some research and it appears to be a Vargas wax sculpture. I cannot say when it was created for certain, as it is not signed anywhere that we have been able to find.This is a bit we were able to find when searching for info on the artist of our piece:\"ABOUT THE ARTIST: Born in 1825, Francisco Vargas Sr. was a native of Mexico who arrived in the United States by covered wagon in 1864 and found his way to New Orleans several years later. By 1875, he had set up shop on Royal Street, making wax sculptures, a trade he had learned as a boy from a Jesuit priest. Though beeswax sculptures had been produced for centuries by various cultures, Vargas was part of a resurgence in popularity for the art form, which had started in Mexico during the mid-1800s. Instead of focusing on religious images, Vargas embraced a wider variety of subjects and found a niche in creating human figures and animals as well as fruits, vegetables and flowers. Among the most highly prized of his works were lifelike sculptures of American Indians, often shown in vigorous activities such as riding a horse or hunting with bow and arrow. Vargas\' original sculptures were known for their complexity and intricate detail, which included such minute features as eyelashes, hair and even beads of perspiration.KING OF WAX: Having become well-known locally for the quality of his wax images, Vargas was commissioned in 1884 to produce a 30-foot-high statue of \"King Cotton\" surrounded by life-sized black figures, along with a variety of indigenous flora, fruits and vegetables, for an enormous exhibit that was the centerpiece of the Agricultural Hall at the Louisiana World Cotton and Industrial Exposition. This project led to similar commissions for wax sculptures at the St. Louis World\'s Exposition and the Buffalo Exposition. After his death in 1915, a number of his works were featured at the Louisiana Museum in the Cabildo, as well as the National Museum in Mexico City.MINDING YOUR BEESWAX: According to Alphone Alfara, one of Vargas\' descendants, all of the family pieces were made from pure beeswax that was filtered, gently heated into a liquid, and then allowed to cool to produce a pliable material. After natural pigments were added, the wax was shaped with tools made by the artists, typically from umbrella staves that were hammered and filed flat and sharp at one end. The bodies and other elements of the sculptures were reinforced with wood, wire, paper or string. Clothing was made by dipping bits of cotton or silk fabric in liquid wax and applying them to the figure. Once complete, the sculpture was mounted on a block of wood; some also were covered by a bell jar to protect them from dust and damage.\" (Taken from Stephanie Stokes NOLA . com article.)

Our figurine is a woman peddling vegetables. The whole work, including the base, stands approximately 8 inches tall. The base is 4 inches wide. This is a very unique piece about a very specific time in American history. Though it is not signed and there is no date, you can tell by looking at this piece that it is several decades old. 1930s perhaps? Please refer to all of the photos for the complete condition. This piece does need TLC and is being sold AS IS. As you can see, there are several pieces broken off and missing, the basket is unattached, etc. The arm and parts of her other hand were already missing when we found this piece, as was the basket unattached from the base. Also, the basket is missing a piece on the backside and two other pieces are cracked. The basket appears to be some sort of stuffing covered with the sculpted wax. I am unsure about the rest of the figure. The clothing may be some sort of waxed oil cloth. As we are not restorers, we did not want to attempt to clean the piece and risk causing further damage, hence the dust seen in the photos. Please refer to all the photos and be sure to ask questions if you have them! :-)
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