Black People in European Sculpture Project

98 (02/02/2022)

Egyptian Girl Torchère

An iron torchère depicting a young Nubian girl dressed in Ancient Egyptian style clothing with a pleated loincloth, wears a variation of the nemes or pharoah headcloth of ancient Egypt. The figure is also wearing slave bracelets on her arms and ankles. The figure is positioned on a plinth decorated with stylised flora and head reliefs wearing Ancient Egyptian style coiffures.

The style and pose of these figures are part of the European decorative art tradition known as ‘blackamoor’. This term was used to describe highly stylised and stereotyped representations of people from the continent of Africa, wearing exotic or orientalist costume, often assuming subservient or literally functional roles.

Statue: Full-length figure (single)

Base present - appears to be the original base

Height: 127 cm

Width: 50 cm

Depth: 24 cm

Height (plinth): 97 cm

Width (plinth): 43.3 cm

Depth (plinth): 43.3 cm

Iron

Casting

Gilding

Polychrome

Anonymous: generic/idealised type

Main protagonist

Female

Child

Uncertain

Partially clothed

Wearing clothes – ‘exotic’ clothing

Uncertain

‘Exotic’ costume/dress

Standing

Happy

Looking outwards (engaging viewer)

No location included/implied

Nineteenth century (1800-1899)

Recorded in related documentation

Decorative

Unknown

GV 3005

1910: purchased by Richard Glynn Vivian (1835-1910)

1911: part of the Richard Glynn Vivian Bequest

Egyptian Girl Torchère is French in origin and probably a product of the Val d’Osne foundry which was the largest and most prolific foundry of decorative and sculptural cast iron in France. The company exhibited at the Great Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862 as well as the Chicago Great Exhibition of 1893. The 19th century sculpture is characteristic of the Napoleon III period, which freely interpreted styles from the past, and depicts a Nubian girl holding a torch above her head. Likely to be one of a pair of matched torchères, very similar to torchères designed by Mathurin Moreau (1822-1912) for the Val d'Osne foundry.

Gylnn Vivian Art Gallery's original 1911 Gallery catalogue described the item as follows, but there was no title as such:
Cast iron figure of an Eggyptian girl holding a torch, on an ornamental pedestal

Item was conserved in 2016:
Areas where there was evidence of gilding were re-gilded with transfer gold leaf over ‘One Strike’ gold size. The gold was aged slightly by abrading, and painting over a semi-matt acrylic glaze.

Partner figure to this sculpture (an Egyptian boy) was offered for sale in 2016 by Windsor House Antiques, for £16,400