Bust of a Man

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With experience copying classical antique sculptures in Florence, Francis Harwood created this exceptional sculpture which combined the elements of classical sculpture with the subject of a more modern (1700s) Black individual – a subject we do not frequently have the privilege of seeing.

In fact, this noble bust by Francis Harwood is one of the earliest known sculptures of an African by a western European artist since antiquity. There is some speculation that it could be representing Memnon, king of the Ethiopians in Greek mythology, but no one seems to be certain. Although the sitter is unknown, details like the scar on his face, the small ears, and the bags and creases under his eyes suggest that this is a portrait of a specific individual. The specificity and personality of this man distinguishes this sculpture from the decorative and generalized busts of Africans in exotic costumes that were commonly produced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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