Alessandro de' Medici, 1st Duke of Florence
Entry ID
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68 (19/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Alessandro de' Medici, 1st Duke of Florence
Description of the sculpture
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Late nineteenth century terracotta bust meant to depict Alessandro de' Medici, a sixteenth century Florentine ruler.
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: 44.32 cm
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Width: 33 cm
Materials
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Clay kiln fired (Terracotta)
Specific techniques used
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Modelling
Overall colour
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Monochrome – brown
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Identifiable: specific individual
Identity of Black person (real or fictive)
Role within sculpture
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Main protagonist
Gender
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Male
Age
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Adolescent
Status
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Free citizen
Clothing
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Wearing clothes – European/Western clothing
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Not relevant (head)
Emotional state
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Angry/aggressive
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Annoyed/displeased
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Noble/proud
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking upwards
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. 1875
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
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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231-1876
Provenance history
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1876: bought by the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/578, . (no date) ‘Alessandro de’ Medici, 1st Duke of Florence’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/577
