Jeune Tahitienne, This work depicts the bust of a Tahitian woman wearing a necklace and earrings., c. 1893

Vanderbilt photo identifier: SC.MSS.088.FREN.0958; Public Notes: From Sotheby's: Jeune tahitienne is a richly constructed work of art, bringing together elements of different media to form an object that is as enchanting and enigmatic as Gauguin's best paintings. The materials Gauguin used for this sculpture are mostly indigenous to the South Pacific, although he did have limited access to European art supplies through importers in Papeete. The head is carved from Tamanu wood, colloquially known as Solomon Islands wood, known for its variant shades of gold-brown and its luminous sheen. Gauguin appreciated the sensuousness of this material, which is beautifully exploited in the present sculpture. The figure's earrings, which are additions to the central block of wood, are made of boxwood, and the shell and coral necklaces are believed to have been strung together by the artist himself. There is evidently a piercing through the top of the left ear, which presumably held a flower. The bust of the figure is overlaid with a thin, white paper, on which Gauguin has painted a pattern. Indeed, while many Tahitians wore sarongs, a Tahitian girl would have been clothed more modestly, due to the influence of local missionaries.