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Bust
de Cock, Joannes Claudius, born 1667 - died 1735 - Enlarge image
Bust
- Place of origin:
Netherlands (made)
- Date:
ca. 1705-1710 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
de Cock, Joannes Claudius, born 1667 - died 1735 (sculptors)
- Materials and Techniques:
Marble
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by E. S. Clarke Esq.
- Museum number:
A.18-1913
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This bust of a black boy shows similarities in style to a sculpture of a standing black boy in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The Rijksmuseum figure is signed 'JOANNES CLAUD DE COC …. Anno 1704', making it possible that both sculptures are the work of the Flemish artist Joannes Claudius de Cock. Another possibility is that the V&A bust is a later work by a different artist inspired by the de Cock figure.
De Cock's choice of a black subject for the standing figure and (possibly) bust may be unusual, but African people, particularly young men and boys, were not an uncommon sight in cosmopolitan Antwerp where de Cock spent much of his working life. The city's historic trading links and increasing involvement in the transatlantic slave trade contributed to the growth of a black community. At present it is unclear whether the bust is intended to represent a particular individual or a 'type' of person.
