After the conquest of Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean by Rome, Roman artisans began incorporating the different styles of art from other nations into their artwork, as well as making improvements on techniques and materials used. At this time many sculptors used bronze, for example, instead of marble, and while some kept the grace of the Greeks, others used the reality of the Romans in their replication of lifelike art (Beardsley 92: Boardman 1985 205). Because large statues are more apt to be damaged in catastrophes, however, few bronze statues from this period survive. Most of the studies in bronze that have been done have been on bronze statuettes or figurines, which seemed to have survived in tact more often (Boardman 1985). Whether statue or other type of artwork, however, Snowden (1987) points out that Greek and Roman artists did not stereotype in their artwork at all and were faithful in portraying each subject accurately with a keen eye towards the different body types and facial expressions (3). This paper will describe and discuss a small bronze sculpture, artfully rendered during this later time period and representing someone of African descent.
The sculpture to be discussed is a bronze statuette of a young Ethiopian boy who is singing. It was discovered in 1763 in a chest with other Roman artifacts at Chalon-sur-Saone and is currently on display at the Cabinet des Medailles in Paris (Beardsley 97; Boardman 1985). Although it was discovered with other Roman bronzes and appears to have been cast around the same time in the 2nd century BCE, this statuette is considered to be Hellenistic in style and is generally assigned to Alexandria in origin because of the apparent grace of the figure (Beardsley 98; Boardman 206).
The bronze statuette, which stands approximately 8 inches high, depicts a young nude Ethiopian boy who is standing with his left hip thrust out and weight on his back left foot, elbow t...