Created by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875) around 1870, the bust "Pourquoi naître esclave" (Why be born a Slave) was commissioned by the City of Paris to represent one of the cardinal points. Brought to life in collaboration with the Plaster Cast Workshop of the Rmn- Grand Palais, this 35cm creation stands as a timeless tribute to human labour. Carpeaux's desire for faithful representations of human form led him to depict his African slave in a captured, yet rebellious stance. It's said the female model may have also been present in Charles Cordier's 1861 "Capresse des colonies."