Two versions of Edgar Degas’ (1834-1917) statue of Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans exist. The traditionally recognised example (pictured below), one bronze of which stands in the Tate Modern, was the only one known for many years and is a posthumous cast of Degas’ wax sculpture.
However, a new cast (right), made in the 1990s off a plaster discovered in a French foundry, is now believed by some to represent the Petite Danseuse as it was in 1881 at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris, making the other cast a reworking.
Stair Sainty’s exhibition will present this Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans as the original version of Edgar Degas’ sculpture. The patinated bronze cast from the plaster stands 3ft 2in (98cm) high without the base. It is offered at £3m.