A plaster statuette of a female dancer balancing on her left leg and with her right arm across her body, wearing a simple short dress and a pair of wings, and a garland of flowers around her head. She stands on an oval naturalistis base mounted on a circular ebonised wood stand. The statuette is protected by a glass dome.

This figurine of a dancer depicts Marie Taglioni, one of the most famous ballet dancers of the romantic period. She is shown wearing the costume designed for the ballet La Sylphide, her most famous role, which was choreographed by her father, Filippo Taglioni, and premiered at the Paris Opéra in 1832. It was the first full-length ballet in which the dancers danced en pointe.

Although the artist, Jean-August Barre, specialised in portrait sculpture, he also produced numerous figurines depicting famous dancers and contemporary artists, often employing affordable materials suitable for mass production.