Nelusko
Entry ID
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2 (04/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Nelusko
Description of the sculpture
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A bronze and marble bust depicting the character Nelusko from the opera ‘L’Africaine’ by German composer, Giacomo Meyerbeer.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Bust – Portrait
Base
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Base present - may be a later replacement
Dimensions
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Height: 95.5 cm
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Width: 50 cm
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Depth: 30 cm
Materials
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Bronze
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Marble – white
Specific techniques used
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Casting
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Carving
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Patination
Overall colour
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Polychrome
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Identifiable: person from literature/ musicals/ opera
Identity of Black person (real or fictive)
Role within sculpture
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Main protagonist
Gender
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Male
Age
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Adult
Status
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Royal
Clothing
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Wearing clothes – indigenous clothing
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Wearing clothes – ‘exotic’ clothing
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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Feathers
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Earrings (often a single pearl)
Action or activity
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Not relevant (head)
Emotional state
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Noble/proud
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Annoyed/displeased
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking sideways
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Nineteenth century (1800-1899)
Date of Production
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c. 1878
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Decorative
Original display setting
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Unknown
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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SC20 BORGM
Provenance history
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1921: gifted to Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum by Sir Merton Russell-Cotes
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c. 1907 - 1921: owned by Sir Merton Russell-Cotes
Notes
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Nelusko was created as a pair to the bust of Selika.
Originally, both busts were erroneously believed to have been carved by Pietro Calvi.
Both earlobes are pierced, which suggests that the bust may originally have been adorned with removable earrings (now lost).
Associated with
Related objects
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
Linked resources
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/50, . (no date) ‘Nelusko’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/166
