Bust of a Black Female
Entry ID
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67 (19/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Bust of a Black Female
Description of the sculpture
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A terracotta bust (partly painted and partly enamelled) depicting a woman looking upwards to her right. She wears a white and purple headband and a blue, white and yellow dress. This bust was made in Italy during the nineteenth century in the style of della Robbia.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Bust – Portrait
Base
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No base
Dimensions
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Height: 12.6 cm
Materials
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Clay kiln fired (Terracotta)
Specific techniques used
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Enamelling
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Polychromy
Overall colour
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Polychrome
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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Female
Age
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Adult
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Adolescent
Status
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Free citizen
Clothing
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Wearing clothes – European/Western 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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Not relevant (head)
Emotional state
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Neutral/emotionless
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking sideways
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Place of production
Period of production
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Nineteenth century (1800-1899)
Date inferred from
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Inferred from stylistic features
Price history
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25 - 30 April, 1864: £3 9s. 8d. (around £541.52 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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479-1864
Provenance history
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25 - 30 April, 1864: purchased by the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert Museum) in Paris (Piot Sale, 1864, 25-30 April, p. 23, No. 92, £3 9s. 8d.)
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
‘Bust of a Black Female’ (no date), Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/573
