A rare and highly collectible antique 19th-century French Parian ware figurative sculpture titled La Dormeuse (The Sleeping Girl / Sleeping Louise). The piece is a fine nineteenth-century interpretation of the celebrated model by the French sculptor Michel Victor Acier (1736-1799). The sculpture is executed in fine, unglazed matte white Parian porcelain, closely imitating the soft texture of carved white marble. The composition depicts a sleeping lady seated in an armchair with a miniature love letter tucked into her bodice, while one of her original porcelain slippers rests on the paved cobblestone-moulded base below. The figure is finely modelled throughout, with carefully executed drapery folds, a fully detailed chair with turned supports and shaped splats, and a separate side table incorporating X-shaped stretchers. ...