Description
A sybil was an ancient prophetic priestess who guarded her writings that foretold the future. The emblem on this sybil's necklace is an ancient symbol indicating her mystical powers, though today it is commonly associated with the Jewish Star of David, and with Exodus, and the escape of the Jewish people from slavery. The Libyan Sybil sits contemplating the fate of the African people, after reading the scroll she holds in her left hand. William Wetmore Story conceived this sculpture after the onset of the Civil War, and his letters confirm that he intended it to be a symbolic condemnation of African American slavery: "She is looking out of her black eyes into futurity and sees the terrible fate of her race. This is the theme of the figure -- Slavery on the horizon."
Physical Object
Marble
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Cabot Lodge through John Ellerton Lodge
Record Contributed By
Smithsonian American Art MuseumRecord Harvested From
Smithsonian InstitutionKeywords
- Classical
- Emblem
- Emblems
- Figure Female
- Full Length
- Mythology
- Nude
- Nudity
- Sibyl
- Star Of David
- Story, William Wetmore