Asia_1

“Asia,” Daniel Chester French (1903-7), in front of the Alexander Hamilton Customs House, New York. The female personification of Asia sits with her eyes closed and hands resting in her lap. She wears a hat similar to the shape of a fez, a beaded necklace, a low cut blouse, and flowing robes. She holds a tulip in her right hand. A statue of Buddha sits in her lap. Her feet rest on a pedestal supported by human skulls. To her left there are 3 people crouching, one completely kneeling with head to the ground. Behind her right shoulder is an emerging Christian cross. To her right sits a tiger with its chin resting on Asia’s right shoulder.

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