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Bust of an African Woman

Henry Weekes1859

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

In 1859 Henry Weekes exhibited this bust at the British Royal Academy in London as a portrait of an anonymous African woman ("An African Head"). Her hair neatly gathered at her neck in a type of hairnet called a snood, the sitter wears hoop earrings and an ornate necklace. Weekes renders her hair and expression in a display of sculptural virtuosity that extends to the palm-leaf pedestal from which the bust appears to grow. This inventive composition unites naturalistic portraiture and whimsical design.

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The J. Paul Getty Museum

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