Figure of an Enslaved African Man

Doccia Porcelain Manufactory|Giuseppe Piamontini

late 18th century · Hard-paste porcelain · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This tortured figure of an enslaved African man derives from Pietro Tacca’s sixteenth-century monument known as the "Four Moors" (I Quattro Mori), in Livorno, which commemorated Medici triumphs over the Ottomans in the late sixteenth century. The sculptor’s sympathetic portrayal of four galley slaves at the base of the pedestal mesmerized viewers after its completion around 1626, even after the Medici lost power over the port city. Smaller figures were subsequently adapted and transformed into bronze and porcelain versions, including examples by Doccia. This piece, possibly made after a model by Giuseppe Piamontini at the end of the eighteenth century, is clearly inspired by Tacca. Far removed from the triumphalist rhetoric of the original monument in Livorno, this arresting porcelain figure foregrounds the physical horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, as the extraordinary human cost of bringing luxury commodities and pleasures to Europe became increasingly visible with the establishment of the abolitionist movement.

Artist

Doccia Porcelain Manufactory|Giuseppe Piamontini

Date

late 18th century

Medium

Hard-paste porcelain

Culture

Italian, Doccia

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, Larry and Ann Burns Gift, in honor of Austin B. Chinn, 2021