Figure
Entry ID
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8 (04/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Figure
Description of the sculpture
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A metal statuette of a semi-kneeling enslaved man, wearing only a loin cloth, with head and hands raised in a pleading position depicted wearing manacles, shackles and chains. The statuette is cast with an integral rectangular base.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Statuette
Base
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Base present - appears to be the original base
Dimensions
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Height: 10.3 cm
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Width: 8.3 cm
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Depth: 3 cm
Materials
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Metal (unidentified)
Specific techniques used
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Casting
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Patination
Overall colour
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Monochrome – black
Inscriptions
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None
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Anonymous: generic/idealised type
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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Enslaved
Clothing
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Partially clothed
Evidence of enslavement
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Manacles with/without chains
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Shackles with/without chains
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Begging/pleading
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Half-kneeling
Emotional state
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Desperate
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Anxious/fearful
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking upwards
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Period of production
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Eighteenth century (1700-1799)
Date of Production
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c. 1790
Date inferred from
-
Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Didactic / Propagandistic
Original display setting
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Unknown
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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ZBA2491
Provenance history
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2002: acquired by the National Maritime Museum as part of the Michael Graham-Stewart Slavery Collection
Notes
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This figure is part of the Michael Graham-Stewart Slavery Collection, which was acquired by the National Maritime Museum in 2002 with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
‘Figure’ (no date), Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/201
