Moor with Emerald Plate
Moor with emerald plate is a baroque statuette created around 1724 for August the Strong after a design by Balthasar Permoser. It is one of the most important exhibits in the Green Vault in Dresden. The figure is 63.8 cm high and made of pear wood finished with a dark brown lacquer. It depicts a black man, though the source text identifies him as an Indian, shown with tattoos, necklaces, bracelets, a feather crown, a loincloth, and footwear, indicating noble status. The tray displays various Colombian emeralds. The work was also associated with Johann Melchior Dinglinger, Wilhelm Krüger, and Martin Schnell.
1999 © Ralf Brown · CC BY-SA 3.0
© Paul Wolff · CC0
© Paul Wolff · CC0
© Eugen Nosko · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
1932 © Jean Louis Sponsel · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Identification | |
| Title | Moor with emerald plate |
| Type | Baroque statuette |
| Original titles | Der Mohr mit der Smaragdstufe; Le Maure au bloc d'émeraude |
Historical context | |
| Date of creation | around 1724 |
Creator | |
| Artist | Balthasar Permoser |
| Other artists involved | Johann Melchior Dinglinger, Wilhelm Krüger, and Martin Schnell |
| Created on the design of | Balthasar Permoser |
| Commissioned by | Augustus the Strong |
| Place of creation | Saxon court |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Earlier history of materials | The limonitic rock block was given to Elector August by Emperor Rudolf II in 1581 |
| Origin of the emerald block | Given by Emperor Rudolph II to Elector Augustus of Saxony in 1581 |
| Original owner / provenance | August the Strong's possession; later intended for the electoral treasury |
| Source of emeralds | Chivor-Somondoco mines in Colombia |
Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 63.8 × 29.0 × 31.0 cm |
| Height | about 58 cm without the crown |
| Weight | 3741 g |
| Weight with base | 5922 g |
| Base | Removable stone step/base |
| Stone support | Limonitic rock fragment set with 16 emeralds, some very large |
Materials | |
| Gemstones | Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, garnets, and almandines |
| Emerald count | 16 |
| Figure material | Pear wood |
| Additional materials | Gilded silver, tortoiseshell |
| Surface finish | Dark brown lacquer |
Appearance | |
| Depicted figure | A Native American man shown as a Moor / black man in historical interpretation |
| Attributes | Tattoos, neck and arm bands, feather crown, loincloth, footwear, and jewelry |
| Social status depiction | An aristocrat |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Object held by the figure | A tray containing an emerald block |
| Prototype / source image | A copper engraving of a native inhabitant of Florida by Theodor de Bry |
| Physiognomic model | A Black African served as the model for the facial features |
| Probable artistic inspiration | Permoser was probably inspired by two American princes brought to Saxony in 1722 as prisoners of war |
Location and ownership | |
| Current location | Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden |
History and restoration | |
| Renaming date | 2020 |
| Renaming context | Part of a measure begun in 2020 to change historical work titles |
| Online collection title since 2021 | Politically correct title "**** mit der Smaragdstufe"; revealed only after clicking the title and selecting the option |
| Number of historical work titles changed | 143 |
Significance | |
| Significance | One of the most important exhibit objects in the Green Vault in Dresden |
Other | |
| Purpose of creation | To showcase this wonder of nature |