Trois Grandes Races
Entry ID
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99 (02/02/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Trois Grandes Races
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Three Great Races
Description of the sculpture
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An electrotype (an exact copy in metal of another object, made in a replication mould) of a medallion by Cordier created in 1861. The relief depicts three men: a central male head facing forwards and on either side two male heads in profile. On the right-hand side, the profile relief depicts a man believed to be from Sudan.
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: 17cm
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Width: 19.7cm
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Depth: 1.2cm
Materials
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Bronze
Specific techniques used
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Casting
Overall colour
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Monochrome – black
Inscriptions
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Running up bottom left edge of electrotype in italic script: 'C. Cordier.'
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Anonymous: generic/idealised type
Role within sculpture
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Key subsidiary role
Gender
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Male
Age
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Adult
Status
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Uncertain
Clothing
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No clothes included (head)
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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Neutral/emotionless
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Indeterminate
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Nineteenth century (1800-1899)
Date of Production
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1861
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Unknown
Original display setting
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Unknown
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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A.6-2010
Notes
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This electrotype is an exact copy of Cordier’s 1861 medallion which was itself reproduced from an etching (c. 1856) by Henri Valentin. In turn, Valentin based the figures in his etching from three sculptural busts created by Cordier. At the time the busts were referred to as a ‘Negro of the Sudan’, an ‘Arab of El Aghouat’, and a ‘Chinese Man’. Cordier donated the busts to the Anthropological Society, Paris, in 1862.
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/44, . (no date) ‘Trois Grandes Races’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/869
