A View from the Vault: Paul-Ange Nocquet’s Untitled (Dancing Girl)
by Roxana Guarriello, Undergraduate Museums Gallery Attendant
“A View from the Vault” showcases some of the unique, notable or rare items that are a part of the Special Collections and Museums holdings at the University of Delaware. Each month, we highlight a different item and share interesting facts or intriguing histories about it. If you are interested in seeing any of the materials featured in person or want to learn more about anything showcased in the series, please contact Special Collections and Museums at AskSpec or AskMuseums.
Among the Library, Museums and Press’ sculpture collections is a bronze statue of a dancing girl made by Belgian sculptor Paul-Ange Nocquet. Although the original title is unknown, details suggest the sculpture might represent a specific dancer: the Biblical figure of Salome.
In the Bible, Salome was a skilled dancer who performed for King Herod. Dazzled by her talent, he promised her anything she wished for. Under the instruction of her mother, Herodias, Salome asked the King to bring her the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The King fulfilled Salome’s demand and ordered John the Baptist beheaded.
Like Salome, Nocquet’s dancer is both beautiful and skilled. Her twisted body contorts into an impossible shape as viewers move across the space. Her ornate jeweled belt accentuates her allure and femininity as the accessory barely protects her modesty. The jewelry, including her small snake anklets, suggests Middle Eastern influence, like where Salome’s story is set.
One of the most interesting parts of Nocquet’s sculpture is the drum or pedestal upon which Salome dances. Along the sides, wild women are holding children’s hands, potentially representing a metaphor for her tremulous familial relationship. On the bottom are cloven hooves of a goat and the monstrous head of a goat-man. This might represent Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, or possibly the devil, who projected his evil through the wrath of Salome’s mother.
While some of the sculpture’s details may point toward an identification of the dancing girl as Salome, integral elements of her story that would confirm the dancer’s identity are absent. Without these details or Nocquet’s original title, her identity remains ambiguous inviting the viewers to consider broader themes of sensuality and power.