The Libyan Sibyl
The Libyan Sibyl
3D
Published 2017-05-30T10:25:34+00:00
A sibyl was an ancient prophetic priestess who guarded her writings that foretold the future. The emblem on this sibyl’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 Sibyl 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.”
| Date published | 30/05/2017 |
| Title | The Lybian Sibyl |
| Date | 1861 |
| Period | Realism |
| Medium | Marble |
| Artist | William Wetmore Story |
| Place | Smithsonian American Art Museum |
