This impressive stone carving would have originally been a keystone for a French building as early as 1850. The architectural element depicts a female mascaron wearing a Phrygian cap flanked by a pair of leaf clusters. Her long, flowing hair, which trails down the side of her face, adds amazing detail to the carved visage. Architecturally, a keystone is the central wedge-shaped section at the apex of an arch. It is possible that the thin recessed molding that runs behind the woman’s head was also carved along the entire curve of the arch, tying all of the stones together. Our French keystone mascaron would make a welcome addition as a garden ornament, or it could be inset into a wall as a decorative architectural feature.