African Snake Charmer
Entry ID
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58 (17/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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African Snake Charmer
Description of the sculpture
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A bronze statuette of a man wearing a loincloth and playing a flute while dancing beside a snake. He wears a bracelet on his left arm, earrings and a feather in his hair. This French sculpture from the late 19th or early 20th century depicts an African snake charmer.
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: 113 cm
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Width: 88 cm
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Depth: ? cm
Materials
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Bronze
Specific techniques used
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Casting
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Patination
Overall colour
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Monochrome – brown
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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Free citizen
Clothing
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Partially clothed
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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Earrings (often a single pearl)
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Feathers
Action or activity
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Dancing
Emotional state
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Happy
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking downwards
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Eyes half-shut
Sculptural context
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Rural: Indigenous
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Urban: Indigenous
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Nineteenth century (1800-1899)
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Twentieth century (1900-1999)
Date of Production
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c. 1850 - 1930
Date inferred from
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Other
Original purpose
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Decorative
Original display setting
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Unknown
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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A106736
Provenance history
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On loan from Wellcome Trust
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/495, . (no date) ‘African Snake Charmer’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/497
