H x W x D: 88.9 x 26.7 x 16.5 cm (35 x 10 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Grassfields region, Cameroon
Date:
Late 19th-early 20th century
Label Text:
Typical of Bangwa portrait sculptures, this particular figure may represent a royal wife and a mother of twins. She is shown nude except for the carved representations of ivory jewelry, which are signs of her status as a royal wife. Her necklaces identify her as a mother of twins. Twins and their parents are shown special signs of respect, including the carving of figures in their honor. It is not unusual for a mother of twins to be depicted with only one child.
Exhibition History:
The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection Highlights, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 21, 2009-June 4, 2014
African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2007-March 31, 2009
For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
Published References:
Kreamer, Christine Mullen, Bryna Freyer and Andrea Nicolls. 2007. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 136-137, no. 37.
Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 183-184, no. 107.
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