Mae West figurine: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Large painted chalk ware figurine depicting actress Mae West with an hour glass figure with an overly large head and bust. It is positioned in a familiar stance of Ms. West with one hand on the back of her head and one on the hip. Her face is painted in heavy detail, with garish eyebrows, eyelashes, blushing cheek, and red pouty mouth. Remnants of glitter still remain on necklace and at dress cuffs, with an additional star design painted in glitter on front of figurine below hips. West was a famous American actress and sex symbol whose career spanned seven decades.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1930s
• depicted (sitter): West, Mae
• Object Name: chalkware figurine
• Object Name: figurine
• Physical Description: plaster (overall material)
• Physical Description: paint (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 14 in x 6 1/4 in; 35.56 cm x 15.875 cm
• ID Number: 2009.0064.14
• accession number: 2009.0064
• catalog number: 2009.0064.14
• Credit Line: Gift of Janet Vart
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.