La femme Africaine (An African Venus)
Entry ID
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20 (06/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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La femme Africaine (An African Venus)
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The African Woman (An African Venus)
Description of the sculpture
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A bronze, onyx marble and metal lifesize sculpture depicting a standing woman, holding a vase on top of her head. The original vase is lost; the current vase is a modern replacement in wood.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Statue: Full-length figure (single)
Base
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Base present - appears to be the original base
Dimensions
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Height: 160.5 cm
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Width: 54 cm
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Depth: 30 cm
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Height (base): 30 cm
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Height (base): 70 cm
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Depth (base): 70 cm
Materials
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Bronze
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Marble – another colour (not black or white)
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Gold
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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Anonymous: generic/idealised type
Attributes
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Vase
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Jewellery
Role within sculpture
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Main protagonist
Gender
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Female
Age
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Adult
Status
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Uncertain
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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‘Exotic’ costume/dress
Action or activity
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Standing
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Working
Emotional state
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Indeterminate
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Eyes half-shut
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Sculptor
Period of production
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Nineteenth century (1800-1899)
Date of Production
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1867
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Price history
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1949: £150 (£5, 647. 85 in 2022)
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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ROTMG:S.1989.69
Provenance history
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1949: purchased from W. J. Dawson, Bournemouth, England
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/44, . (no date) ‘La femme Africaine (An African Venus)’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/249
