Personification of Africa

Unknown

1580–90 · Lead and gilding · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

During the Renaissance, Europeans recognized four continents. Each figure on these plaquettes (60.70.1-.4) personifies one of them. Europe’s clothing and attributes denote empire, military strength, and artistic accomplishments, whereas those of Africa, America, and Asia represent the precious goods that Europeans coveted. Far from accurate representations, this imagery reinforced the fiction of European superiority over other peoples and cultures.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1580–90

Medium

Lead and gilding

Culture

German

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1960