Fondérie de Cuivre au Katanga
Entry ID
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64 (18/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Fondérie de Cuivre au Katanga
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A Copper Foundry, Katanga
Description of the sculpture
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This small bronze figure group depicts copper foundry workers in the African region of Katanga, which is now part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Four figures kneel and stand around a central bowl with their hands mixing, moulding or grinding. It was cast in 1912 and purchased in that year by the Département des Colonies for the Musée de Tervueren (the Royal Museum for Central Africa).
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Statue: Group (multiple figures)
Base
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No base
Dimensions
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Height: 36 cm
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Width: 37 cm
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Depth: 25 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 – black
Inscriptions
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Back: 'A. Puyt / BRUXELLES'
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
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Female
Age
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Adult
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Senior
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Adolescent
Status
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Uncertain
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Indentured labourer
Clothing
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Partially clothed
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Naked
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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Working
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Kneeling
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Sitting
Emotional state
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Indeterminate
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking downwards
Sculptural context
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Rural: Indigenous
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Twentieth century (1900-1999)
Date of Production
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1912
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Unknown
Original display setting
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Unknown
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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ABDAG004760
Provenance history
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1946: Bequeathed to the Aberdeen Art Gallery by Sir Robert Williams
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1912: purchased by the Département des Colonies for the Musée de Tervueren (the Royal Museum for Central Africa)
Notes
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There may be other casts and it may be possible the Africa Museum in Tervuren still has the original bronzed plaster.
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/547, . (no date) ‘Fondérie de Cuivre au Katanga’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/545
