Black People in European Sculpture Project

38 (11/01/2022)

A Nubian Athlete

Statue of a Nubian Athlete

This statue composed of ancient Roman fragments and 18th-century additions and restorations depicts a nude Nubian athlete competing in a boxing competition. It is carved in grey-veined black marble known as negro antico, found in North Africa or Greece. This type of marble was used to signal that the figure represented is a Black athlete.

Statue: Full-length figure (single)

Base present - appears to be the original base

Height: 178 cm

Width: ?

Depth: ?

Marble – black

Carving

Monochrome – black

None

Anonymous: generic/idealised type

Boxing gloves

Herm

Main protagonist

Male

Adult

Uncertain

Naked

None

None

Fighting

Angry/aggressive

Other

Looking sideways

No location included/implied

Eighteenth century (1700-1799)

Inferred from stylistic features

Decorative

Unknown

LL 201

15 June 1923: purchased by Lord Leverhulme from Sir Edward Naylor Leyland.

11-14 June 1923: purchased by M Harris and Sons, Dealer at auction lot 410 by direction of Sir Edward Leyland.

11-14 June 1923: sold by Messers Knight Frank and Rutley on the behalf of Albert Edward Herbert Naylor-Leyland to M. Harris & Sons.

1857: purchased by Joseph Mayer as part of B. Hertz collection which this object was part of pre-1857.

Mid 1820s: purchased by Bram Hertz at either a private sale or public sale of von Fries bankruptcy sales in 1820s.

1788: inherited by Mortiz von Fries after the passing of his older brother Josef von Fries in 1788, sold at either a private or public sale of von Fries bankruptcy sales in mid 1820s.

1786-1788: Josef von Fries purchased from Thomas Jenkins.

1786: purchased by Thomas Jenkins as part of the statues at Villa Negroni.

The marble statue was originally thought to be entirely Ancient Roman in origin. It is now known to have been considerably altered in the 18th century, and likely to have been based on an Ancient Greek bronze. In the 18th century, there was a craze for acquiring sculpture from Ancient Greece or Rome. Many statues discovered during excavation work were fragmented or damaged. These were often restored in such a convincing way that is difficult to tell the difference between the antique parts and later additions. The parts that have been restored on this statue include the arms, both legs and feet, the plinth, the head, and parts of the torso.