This sculpture shows Andromeda, daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. Andromeda was tied naked to the rocks on the coast of her native Ethiopia as a victim for the sea monster then ravaging the area and as a sacrifice to Poseidon, god of the sea. Perseus rescued and eventually married her. 

Small polychrome erotic sculptures using many different materials were a French speciality around 1900. The pure white ivory of Andromeda's body makes her seem enticingly available and desirable - she cannot escape and appears to writhe as much in anticipation as in fear.

This piece was shown at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, then at the Royal Academy, London in 1901 where Lever purchased the work from the artist.

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This sculpture shows Andromeda, daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. Andromeda was tied naked to the rocks on the coast of her native Ethiopia as a victim for the sea monster then ravaging the area and as a sacrifice to Poseidon, god of the sea. Perseus rescued and eventually married her. Small polychrome erotic sculptures using many different materials were a French speciality around 1900. The pure white ivory of Andromeda's body makes her seem enticingly available and desirable - she cannot escape and appears to writhe as much in anticipation as in fear. This piece was shown at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, then at the Royal Academy, London in 1901 where Lever purchased the work from the artist.

Andromeda

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