Lawyer 1743 - 1753

The Meissen Manufactory created this porcelain figure of a Lawyer, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Courtly society in eighteenth-century Europe found amusement in commedia dell’arte, and in the caricatured figures of various professions, including lawyers. The figure is white, except for the mask he wears, which is black. He is rendered in clothing that marks him as affluent; the finery of his garments speaks to the intertwined relationship between race, class and power. What does it mean to wear the mask? This sculpture provides an opportunity to reflect on questions of identity, performance, and social hierarchy. It can be seen as a commentary on the ways in which societal roles and expectations are negotiated and represented through art. The emotional dimension lies in confronting uncomfortable aspects of history.