Bust of a Man
Entry ID
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15 (06/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Bust of a Man
Previous title(s)
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Bust of an African Man (changed to 'Bust of a Man' in June 2022)
Description of the sculpture
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A marble bust of a grinning man depicted with cropped hair and wearing a tunic. His head is turned to the side. The bust is elevated on a turned marble socle. It is one of a pair; its pendant is also in the Wallace Collection (S18).
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Bust – Portrait
Base
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Base present - appears to be the original base
Dimensions
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Height: 69.2 cm
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Width: 48.1 cm
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Depth: 25.3 cm
Materials
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Marble – black
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Marble – white
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Marble – another colour (not black or white)
Specific techniques used
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Carving
Overall colour
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Polychrome
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Anonymous: specific individual but not currently identifiable
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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Uncertain
Clothing
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Wearing clothes – European/Western clothing
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Not relevant (head)
Emotional state
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Happy
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Unfocussed/blank eyeballs
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Place of production
Period of production
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Seventeenth century (1600-1699)
Date of Production
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c. 1650
Date inferred from
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Inferred from stylistic features
Price history
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1871: 500 francs (with pair S18)
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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S17
Provenance history
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1890: recorded at Hertford House
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1871: probably recorded at rue Taitbout no. 5, Paris (the description of the sculpture is very brief).
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By 1870: Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford
Notes
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This bust was formerly mounted on a Corinthian column of white marble and jasper.
Bibliography/References
Reference pages
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Mann 1931, p. 5
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Coppel Aréizaga 1998, p. 106
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Warren 2016, pp. 581-589, cat. no. 124
Associated with
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
 Bust of a Woman |
Associated with | E22 Man-Made Object |
‘Bust of a Man’ (no date), Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/228
