Late 19th century. Artist unknown. Finished piece just completed. The cast, above, is one of hundreds of such enigmatic pieces in the gipsoteca: unknown artist, unknown subject, unknown date. They have found their way to our shelves from vanished studios, to take their place among other forgotten casts and terracottas, awaiting only that sudden pulse of desire, or perhaps of recognition, that will pull them off the shelf and into marble form.