BA Design

Jack Walker Heppell

‘Bust of a black boy’ 1705-10

The V&A’s main collections tell stories of Eurocentrism. But what does Eurocentric mean? Hannah Franzki, of Bielefeld University, defines it to be

a world-view which, implicitly or explicitly, posits European history and values as “normal” and superior to others’.

Though the museum’s narrative may not support these ideas of superiority, the V&A displays that what it means to be part of Europe’s history is synonymous with being white.

The Caucasian noses that look like mine, guide me through the cast courts and account (white) people from all financial and social backgrounds. A bust or even full sculpture, historically reserved for gods and royalty share the same spaces as statesmen, novelists and even women.

Bust of a black boy isn’t in any collection at the V&A, but rather the archives. Found through searching on an information screen, no staff could point me in its direction. Online, the museum exploring the ambiguity and curiosity surrounding the bust:

Why, when busts in Europe were usually reserved for the white and wealthy, was a black child depicted? [...] at least ten versions are known to exist [...] a sign of fashion and status to 'employ' a young black page.

The fact of no 'condescension or caricature' suggests that the sculpture isn't designed as a display of racism. The white man that hangs around the boy's neck in the form of a medallion points us to the transatlantic slave trade and how populations of African descent arrived into Europe. But the article also talks about how black European communities have existed for centuries,

NOSES OF THE SCULPTURES IN THE V&A CAST COURTS

BUST OF A BLACK BOY, ATTRIBUTED TO JOANNES CLAUDIUS DE COCK

Jack Walker Heppell

something I personally wasn't aware of until reading. Why doesn't the V&A's main collection reflect this?

Bust of a black boy has such an interesting context of the commodity of black culture, both materially and socially. Why are sculptures of unknown figures with brief emotive descriptions instead taking its place? The V&A, as such a popular establishment, has a responsibility to tell the complex narratives that teach us the real history of our continent.

No matter how unconscious, the museum's "othering" of non-white ethnicities keeps alive a narrative that is reflected in the design of countless institutions. Obviously, the idea is to "design for all" but whoever is in charge's idea of "all" is wrong, or at least outmoded. The V&A is a microcosm of this.