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CHARLES CORDIER (1827-1905)
Saïd Abdallah, de la Tribu de Mayac, Royaume de Darfour
1848RCIN 41509
Queen Victoria was one of the first in Britain to own versions of these much-repeated busts, following their appearance at the Great Exhibition in 1851. While Saïd Abdallah began as a portrait of a studio assistant and freed slave (Saïd Enkess), the companion bust, Vénus africaine, seems always to have been intended as a challenge to Western ideals of beauty.
Purchased by Queen Victoria in September 1852
No. 87
Purchased by Queen Victoria in September 1852
No. 87
