The word hanaku in the ancient Mesopotamian language of Akkadian means warrior—an interesting concept to attach to Saartjie Baartman, the Khoikhoi woman pictured here who was taken from South Africa and exhibited as a “freak” in nineteenth-century Europe. Michael B. Platt’s stunning composition places Baartman’s body in profile, highlighting the youthfulness of her smile and cheekbones and lending her legs a rooted, rather than sensual, strength. The ambiguities of the composition—the focus of her gaze and her environment—hint at larger uncertainties in the record of Baartman’s life. The thirty-three silver flowers at the bottom of the image may be meant to draw parallels between Baartman’s youth and Jesus’ age when he was betrayed and crucified. As Baartman’s body was dissected after her death, the pointed objects might also symbolize surgical equipment.