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Black People in European Sculpture Project

Male Water Carrier

Male Water Carrier 1
Male Water Carrier 2
Male Water Carrier 3
Male Water Carrier 4
Male Water Carrier 5
Male Water Carrier 6
Male Water Carrier 7

Entry ID

  • 86 (27/01/2022)

Formal title of the work

  • Male Water Carrier

Description of the sculpture

  • A terracotta statuette of a male carrying a water vessel and standing behind a small tree stump. He is depicted barefoot wearing coral coloured trousers, a looped sash around his waist, a loose shirt and a green vest. On his head he wears a turban wrapped around a long-tasselled tarboosh.

    This sculpture is in the style of Friedrich Goldscheider (Austrian, 1845–1897).

URLs where this is recorded/available

Type of object

  • Statuette

Base

  • Base present - appears to be the original base

Dimensions

  • Height: 73 cm
  • Width: 21 cm
  • Depth: 26 cm

Materials

  • Clay kiln fired (Terracotta)
  • Paint / pigment

Specific techniques used

  • Modelling

Overall colour

  • Polychrome

Does the Black person have a specific identity?

  • Anonymous: generic/idealised type

Role within sculpture

  • Main protagonist

Gender

  • Male

Age

  • Adult

Status

  • Uncertain

Clothing

  • Wearing clothes – ‘exotic’ clothing
  • Wearing clothes – indigenous clothing

Evidence of enslavement

  • None

Evidence of 'exotic' status

  • ‘Exotic’ costume/dress
  • Earrings (often a single pearl)

Action or activity

  • Working

Emotional state

  • Happy

Focus of gaze of Black person

  • Looking upwards

Sculptural context

  • Rural: Indigenous

Period of production

  • Nineteenth century (1800-1899)
  • Twentieth century (1900-1999)

Date of Production

  • c. 1900

Date inferred from

  • Inferred from stylistic features

Original purpose

  • Decorative

Original display setting

  • Unknown

Current / most recently known location

Accession number

  • JERSM/1973/276/1

Provenance history

  • 1973: donated to Jersey Heritage by a local individual as part of a much larger collection of various household objects referenced as 'a large collection of miscellaneous late Victorian and Edwardian household items'.

Associated with

Current rights holder

License terms for reuse

  • Copyright Not Evaluated

Linked resources

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P69 has association with
Title Alternate label Class
Female Water Carrier 1Female Water Carrier Associated with E22 Man-Made Object

‘Male Water Carrier’ (no date), Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/741

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