A PAIR OF ITALIAN EBONISED AND POLYCHROME DECORATED BLACKAMOORS

The use of the blackamoor as a decorative motif can be traced back to the Italian Renaissance, when families would use the image of the moor as a pun on their name in heraldic devices. With the spread of exploration and global commerce in the 17th century, craftsmen in maritime centres such as the Republic of Venice grew increasingly fascinated with foreign cultures. In their form and decoration, these figures relate to Venetian models of the late 17th and 18th centuries, where the blackamoor was initially intended as freestanding object of sculpture, often shown in various stages of labour. As in this model, the tone of the skin was routinely accentuated by bright colours in the accoutrements, such as in the head wrap or tunic, to emphasise the figure's exotic nature.