Marble statue of a headless draped figure

The sculptural fragment shows a classical form clothed in flowing drapery, its anonymity emphasized by the missing head. Such headless figures were common in antiquities, allowing viewers to focus on the treatment of fabric and bodily gesture, which convey a sense of movement and timeless idealism.

Laffon employed the mid‑19th‑century albumen print process, which rendered fine tonal gradations suitable for stone surfaces. The photograph’s careful lighting highlights the marble’s texture and the folds of the drapery, while the shallow depth of field isolates the figure from its background, underscoring its sculptural qualities.

The photograph is part of a series Laffon produced of objects from the Campana Collection, then housed in the Musée Napoléon III (now the Louvre). In 1864 the Victoria and Albert Museum acquired 500 prints from this series through the agent Monsieur E. Cappe, integrating them into the National Art Library’s reference collection.

The V&A began collecting photographs in 1852 and was the first museum to exhibit them in 1858, recognizing photography’s educational potential. Female photographers like Laffon were instrumental in supplying images for the museum’s instructional and administrative purposes, supplementing other reprographic methods used by artists and students.