maquette

American  

[ma-ket, muh-] / mæˈkɛt, mə- /

noun

1. a small model or study in three dimensions for either a sculptural or an architectural project.

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maquette British  

/ mæˈkɛt /

noun

1. a sculptor's small preliminary model or sketch

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Etymology

Origin of maquette

1900–05; < French < Italian macchietta, diminutive of macchia a sketch, complex of lines < Latin macula mesh, spot

Example Sentences

To demonstrate, Close’s meticulously detailed head of mustachioed “Robert,” 9 feet tall, is installed next to its maquette, an enlarged and subdivided black-and-white photograph overlaid with a tight grid.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024

The maquette, a preliminary clay model of the statue, captures his charming smile and Frank sitting on a river’s edge as salmon leap from the water.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2024

Next, Langan said, Weitzman will make another maquette for the Architect of the Capitol, which will need to be approved by that body as well as the joint congressional committee that manages National Statuary Hall.

From Washington Post • Jan. 4, 2023

The maquette model sold at auction for $125,000.

From Washington Times • Dec. 21, 2022

So North probably saw not a working model, or even a maquette, but a drawing—hence his insistence that he had only seen it in model.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton