Africa
Entry ID
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22 (07/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Africa
Description of the sculpture
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A cast iron allegorical figure of ‘Africa’ produced by the Coalbrooke Company as part of a set of four lamp standards named after continents. The female figure is depicted wearing a draped and fringed dress, decorative jewelry and an ancient Egyptian-style coiffure.
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: 172 cm
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Weight: 34 cm
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Depth: 23 cm
Materials
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Other
Specific techniques used
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Casting
Overall colour
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Monochrome – black
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Identifiable: allegorical figure
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 – ‘exotic’ clothing
Evidence of enslavement
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Uncertain
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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‘Exotic’ costume/dress
Action or activity
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Standing
Emotional state
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Neutral/emotionless
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Unfocussed/blank eyeballs
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Looking downwards
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. 1860
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Price history
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1860: £25 0s 0d (£3,238.91 in 2022)
The 1860 price reference comes from a 1860 Coalbrookdale Company booklet detailing the prices of their products. -
1991: £14,500 (£27,847.78 in 2022)
This price includes both "Africa" and the accompanying sculpture, "Europe", which were purchased together.
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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1992.4007
Provenance history
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1991: purchased by Ironbridge Gorge Museums from an Oxfordshire antique dealer
Notes
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'Africa' appears in the 1875 Coalbrookdale Company catalogue (No. 57A).
The Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust purchased this sculpture with the assistance of the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund.
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/45, . (no date) ‘Africa’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/255
