This rare portrait bust is by the Welsh sculptor, Goscombe John. It depicts Bokani, who was one of six Congolese Pygmies brought to Europe in 1905. The group aroused intense curiosity and were shown to the public at packed venues in towns and cities throughout the UK, including Wales. While they mainly appeared in music halls, they also went to Buckingham Palace and were even displayed at a zoo. Amongst other works, the Bokani has been part of a display intervention staged by Kick the Dust’s Youth Heritage project. Through a series of workshops, participants felt that the people represented in these works, including Bokani, were classed as objects and identified only through association with empire and colonialism or through Goscombe John. They wanted to highlight the sitters as individuals in their own right through their stories and experiences.

Label from '[un]seen [un]heard]' display intervention 2020: "Bokani was one of a group of six Congolese Pygmies brought to Britain as so-called living specimens for an ethnological showcase. Viewed as a spectacle, and not speaking English, meant their performances focused on their differences. During their stay, they also toured a number of places in Wales, including Barmouth and Aberystwyth in 1906."