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The Four Continents was commissioned to Daniel Chester French in 1899. Originally it was supposed to be a collaborative work with August Saint-Guadens, who turned the project down due to time constraints. French therefore took on all four sculptures; Asia, America, Europe, and Africa.


Today we will tackle Asia, the sculpture at the far left of the entrance of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City. We begin with a young woman, looking serene with her eyes closed, with several things in her lap, including a small diety statue, a flower (there is some argument as to whether this is a poppy, representing the opium trade the U.S. had with Asia at the time, or whether it is a lotus flower), and a coiling snake. There is also a cross behind her, which symbolizes the beginnings of Christianity in Asia.



Those creepy skulls beneath her feet represent the slave trade and labor. Think slavery has only been a problem in the U.S.? It has been prevalent everywhere. A tiger on her right, and three enslaved figures on her left representing ignorance (kneeling boy), superstition (older man), and overpopulation (woman with child), balance each other. Although I’d love to get into the politics of this, I’ll wait for another day. It would take several blogs.



My simple-short blog today is just that. Enjoy the pictures, and if you’re so inclinced, the politics of them as well. Each of my next blogs will cover one of the Four Continents sculptures, my most anxiously awaited being Africa.

Thank you to the following websites for information and pics!
http://www.yeodoug.com/resources/dc_french/continents/dcfrench_asia.html
http://oldnycustomhouse.gov/media/chester/asia.asp
http://oldnycustomhouse.gov/history/artists_art/daniel_chester.asp

Until next time,
Penny Lane

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