Saïd Abdullah of the Mayac, Kingdom of the Darfur (Seïd Enkess)

Seïd Enkess was a formerly enslaved man who traveled Europe and subsequently became an artist’s model. A plaster version of this bust was first exhibited with the title “Said Abdullah of the Mayac, Kingdom of Darfur” in 1848, a year which saw Paris in revolt as well as the abolishment of slavery in French colonies. The artist, Cordier, later reflected that the portrait itself was “a revolt against slavery, . . . widening the circle of beauty by showing that it existed everywhere.” Cordier, who specialized in portrait-like sculptures, retitled the portrait “Black Man from Timbuktu” for its second exhibition in Paris in 1851. Through retitling, the likeness of Enkess came to represent a racial type.An African woman served as ...