Plaster figurine of Fanny Elssler dancing the Cachucha from Jean Coralli's ballet Le Diable boîteux, by Jean Auguste Barre, ca.1840.

Full length female figure standing an integral oval base and supported by a rose covered column, the left arm held down and behind, the right curved forward above the head, holding castanets, and with the right foot raised forward. She is wearing a calf-length dress, the neckline and elbow-length sleeves all trimmed with a frill, the tight bodice with a row of small buttons down centre front, the skirt with two tiers, each with a wide frill. The head is inclined to the right and the hair pulled back into a bun. On the base are bouquets of flowers. Fanny Elssler's name is incised at the front of the base. At the left side of the base is an oval metal plaque with the name of the sculptor, 'A. BARRE'.

From the Estate of Andrew Hardie, given by Mrs Elizabeth Hardie

Figurine of Fanny Elssler, dancing the Cachucha from Jean Coralli's ballet Le Diable boîteux, by Jean Auguste Barre, ca.1840.

Fanny Elssler (1810-1844) created the role of Florinda in Jean Coralli's ballet Le Diable Boîteux at the Paris Opera in 1836, and danced it again in London later the same year. It became the role with which she was most closely associated and her performance of the Cachucha, a Spanish dance performed with castanets, was captured in contemporary prints and became an iconic image of the Romantic Ballet.

S.550-2017