"Pearl Figure" of a Black African Captive

Pearl figures (Perfiguren in German) were figures about 2 to 4 inches high that were crafted primarily from silver, enamel, diamonds, and one or more “baroque” pearls, a term taken from the Portuguese for irregularly shaped pearls in which the layering of nacre that takes place inside the oyster shell has gone awry into a lumpy blob. In the 1600s all kinds of extra-ordinary forms of nature were newly appreciated. One consequence was that the use of such pearls became a specialty of German silversmiths around 1690-1730 who served regional courts (where collections of unusual specimens of nature were common), as that of the Elector August the Strong in Dresden. Given the flamboyant irregularity of baroque pearls, favored categories of ...