Antique Francisco Vargas Americana New Orleans Wax Doll Figure c.1880s

Description

Francisco Vargas waxwork figure of a Mexican turkey vendor.  Created in New Orleans in the 1880s, most probably for the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exhibition, as part of a series of wax figures depicting Mexican peasant life.
Francisco Vargas was born in Mexico and studied wax sculpting under the tutelage of Jesuit priests in the city of Puebla de los Angeles, before emigrating to America in the 1860s.  The dates of his life are believed to have been c.1824 - 1915.
The Turkey Vendor is one of Vargas' larger works, standing at 10 3/4 inches tall including the base, with a diameter of 5 inches.  The artist's monogram of "V" is impressed to the center bottom of the base.  The wax figure is built on a wire frame, with his clothing of culottes, belt, shirt and shawl all made from real fabric and then preserved in a wax solution.  Remarkably, he still has the two original turkeys around his neck.
He does have some wear, most notably a a break at the neck and on his right shin (please see photographs).  He also probably once held a turkey in each hand.  That said, there are no losses to the wax which makes the breaks easy to restore.  All fingers and toes are intact, complete with finger- and toenails (almost unheard of in figures of this age).  Both glass bead eyes, facial features and hair all intact and in good condition.  His clothing appears to be just as it was created over 130 years ago - from the realistic dirt on his back and shoulders, to the frayed fabric of his shawl and the grease stain on his right leg.
Just a wonderful piece of 19th century Southern Americana.
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