A Captive

France colonised islands in the West Indies in the 17th century, with the aim of transforming them into profitable sugar-producing economies fuelled by the labour of enslaved Africans. French involvement in the transatlantic trade continued to grow over the following century, but in 1791 there was a massive slave revolt in Saint-Domingue, one of the most profitable colonies. On 1 January 1804, the territory became Haiti, the first black republic.

This decorative bronze figure was made in France in the 1660s, during the reign of Louis XIV, whose chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, was the architect of French colonial policy. The figure is probably one of a pair made to embellish a clock or a piece of furniture. Its pose - on one knee, with the wrists manacled together and the face uplifted in an attitude of supplication - clearly identifies the figure as a slave. The 'native' dress, with feathered headdress, shield, quiver and arrow, and a skirtcloth with a decorative waistband, suggests that it may represent one of the Four Continents, who were often shown as female figures. However, as slavery spread throughout the New World, these accoutrements became synonymous with the depiction of slaves.'