Altarpiece
Entry ID
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69 (19/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Altarpiece
Description of the sculpture
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A large carved oak altarpiece created in the early sixteenth century for either St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent or the medieval cathedral of Liège (destroyed 1794 and subsequently rebuilt). The lower panel on the right side contains the scene of the Adoration of the Magi. Balthasar, depicted here as the Black Magus, is shown on the right of the panel holding his hat in his left hand while is right arm is damaged and missing.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Relief panel
Base
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No base
Dimensions
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Height: 250.5cm
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Width: 210cm
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Depth: 37.5cm
Materials
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Oak
Specific techniques used
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Carving
Overall colour
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Monochrome – brown
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Identifiable: person from Bible/Christian saint
Identity of Black person (real or fictive)
Role within sculpture
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Minor role
Gender
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Male
Age
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Adolescent
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Adult
Status
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Royal
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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Earrings (often a single pearl)
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‘Exotic’ costume/dress
Action or activity
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Standing
Emotional state
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Indeterminate
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Indeterminate
Sculptural context
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Domestic: Biblical/mythological
Place of production
Period of production
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Sixteenth century (1500-1599)
Date of Production
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c. 1520
Date inferred from
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Inferred from stylistic features
Commissioned for
Original purpose
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Devotional
Original display setting
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Sacred: cathedral
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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1049:1 to 11-1855
Provenance history
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1854: bought by the South Kensington Museum (now named the Victoria and Albert Museum) from M. Couvreur, rue Notre-Dame des Victoires 48, Paris
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By 1847: in the possession of the Alliance des Arts, Paris
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c. 1520 - (?): Cathedral of Liège (?)
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
‘Altarpiece’ (no date), Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/587
