African Venus
Author
Sheryl Carkhum-Lord
Author Bio
Sheryl Carkhum-Lord (1957-) was born in Manhattan, NY to middle-class parents; her Father was a Sanitation Worker and her Mother a Teacher. They, along with her grandparents, instilled a love of learning and reading in her at an early age. She grew up on Woodworth Avenue in Yonkers, NY and lived in a red house with an unusual address 264 1/2. She attended Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY. She loves Art and African-American History and visiting libraries.
Her first novella called “African Venus” and has won the 2014 Indie Best Contest, Second Runner Up – Impact Writer.
Her favorite authors are Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker and Richard Wright. She is active in the local Westchester community – being involved in Church and civic organizations that help children get scholarships and go to summer camp
Description
The comfort of the Royal Palace would be disrupted when Princess Nima is abducted from the home in 1847. Her kidnapping is motivated by vengeance against her Father who has destroyed villages and sent hundreds into slavery.
Nima would be transported against her will, travel to France, and work in the wealthy household of her captor. She meets a French Artist who is in the anti-slavery movement in France. This is the story of how he captures her beauty for the world to see.
Its May 1st, 1851 and its opening day at The Great Exhibition. Queen Victoria cuts the ribbon and enters the exhibition. She purchases the African Venus. It instantly becomes one of Charles Cordier’s most famous pieces.
Book excerpt
The months leading up to the opening ceremony of the Great Exhibition of 1851 flew by. The structure itself was designed by Joseph Paxton, and the project was the brainchild of Prince Albert, husband of the Queen of England. Prince Albert was criticized for undertaking the project. People of the day like Karl Marx saw the exhibit as an emblem of capitalism for the queen. And others said it was Albertopolis. Now he could stand outside the colossal building and garner much satisfaction from seeing the building finally erected. He could laugh at detractors who said the exhibit was obscure and foolish. The growing list of participants would quell that reference, he thought to himself—twelve thousand and counting. In a show of British ingenuity and Victorianism, the 1851 Great Exhibition was nothing short of stunning. The building was a grandiose achievement of iron and glass with gardens and water fountains. Over thirteen thousand exhibitors from all over the world came, and 6.2 million visitors walked through its corridors.
The fifty pieces of the French exhibition had been shipped and set up without incident. The bust of the African Said Abdullah and its companion piece, the African Venus, were positioned well. Their debut was exciting for the artist. He had a world stage before him, but even he did not expect the level of interest the two pieces would produce.
One named and the other nameless had caused great stir in the milky landscape of England. Most people had never seen a rendition of African features. The spotlight was shared and sparked further interest from the queen herself. When Cordier was later approached about making a rendition of African Venus for the palace, it created quite a stir. Suddenly, anyone who was anyone wanted the African Venus.
On opening day, May 1, 1851, Queen Victoria and a crowd of dignitaries and a multitude of people. The list was astonishing and included Americans like Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, and George Elliot.
The ribbon was cut, and speeches were spoken, and the champagne flowed in the reception hall. Then the people spread out into the vast hallways. Among the things displayed was the Koh-i-noor five-hundred-karat diamond from India, a water fountain of eau de cologne, a single lump of gold from Chile weighing three hundred pounds, and the African Venus.
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African Venus
