Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Bust |
Title |
J. Davis |
Catalog Number |
2016.015 |
Date |
1862 |
Description |
Bust: of Jefferson Davis. Made of cast plaster, it consists the head, shoulders, and upper front chest of Jefferson Davis on a small square pedestal. He is depicted with short hair, parted on one side and a slight curl at the ends; and a short underchin goatee. He is wearing a high collared shirt, knotted cravat, vest, and coat with notched lapels. The pedestal has a block cap with "J. Davis" on the front, a concave channel, and out-flared base with two narrow and shallow channels at the top. A half-column is on the back between the base of the subject's neck and the concave channel of the pedestal. "Matteo / Matte / Monterey / 1862" has been carved into the back of the column. On the bottom of the vase is carved, "Carved / from memory / by / a Mexican Soldier / captured by / Col. Davis / Buena Vista". |
Material |
Plaster |
Dimensions |
H-11 W-5.5 L-7.75 inches |
Owned |
Atherton H. Stevens, Jr. |
Event |
Evacuation of Richmond, April 2-3, 1865 |
Provenance |
Bust of Jefferson Davis, which is said to have been carved from memory in 1862 by a Mexican soldier captured by Col. Davis at Buena Vista in the Mexican-American War. According to the donor's family history, the bust was acquired as a "war trophy" by the donor's great-grandfather, Major Atherton H. Stevens, Jr., from the White House of the Confederacy immediately following the occupation of Richmond. Stevens commanded Companies E and H of the 4th (previously the 1st Massachusetts) Volunteer Cavalry, which were the first Union troops to enter Richmond on the morning of April 3, 1865 (their guidons were the first National colors to be raised on the Confederate capitol. The Confederate flag which was taken down was preserved in the family of Major Stevens until 1927 when it was returned to the State of Virginia). Before entering Richmond, he and Major Graves accepted the surrender of the city from Mayor Joseph Mayo. A newspaper article of June 24, 1865, reports from the Boston Journal that there was in Boston "a relic brought from Richmond [of] a plaster bust of Jeff. Davis, bearing on the front of the base the name 'J. Davis,' and on the back is the inscription 'Carved from memory by a Mexican soldier captured by Col. Davis, Buena Vista.' The relic was found on a mantelpiece in the mansion lately occupied by Jeff. Davis…" |
People |
Stevens, Atherton H., Jr. Matte, Matteo Davis, Jefferson |
Search Terms |
White House of the Confederacy Executive Mansion Confederate Executive Mansion Evacuation of Richmond, April 2-3, 1865 Mexican War (Mexican-American War) capture and occupation of Richmond, Virginia, 1865-1870 |
Subjects |
Sculpture Art Prisoners Prisoners of war POW's Captives |