H x W x D: 93.5 x 14 x 13.5 cm (36 13/16 x 5 1/2 x 5 5/16 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Mali
Date:
Late 19th-early 20th century
Label Text:
This female figure, often described as an attendant, is part of a corpus of large figurative sculptures that were, for the most part, unknown in Western collections until the late 1950s. Gwan, a branch of the Jo association, uses carvings--mother and child, warrior/hunter and standing figures of both genders--to encourage fertility and successful childbirth.
The vessel on the figure's head refers to the task of women fetching water for daily use and for washing both the Gwan sculptures and the bodies of the newly initiated. Her gesture of supporting her breasts with both hands suggests the nurturing role of women.
Description:
Wood standing female figure with a vessel on her head, hands touching breasts, proper left foot missing and elongated carved braids from each side of the head.
Provenance:
Paul and Ruth Tishman, New York
Exhibition History:
Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 4, 2017-ongoing
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
First Look: The Walt Disney-Tishman Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 17-December 3, 2006
For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
Published References:
Ezra, Kate. 2001. "The Inititiation as Rite of Passage, Art of the Jo Society." Bamana: The Art of Existence in Mali, ed. by Jean-Paul Colleyn. New York: Museum for African Art, Zürich: Museum Rietberg and Gent: Snoek-Ducaju & Zoon, p. 136, no. 126.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2006. "African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection." Tribal Arts 43, p. 89, no. 17.
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. 103, 126-127, fig. 30, no. 32.
National Museum of African Art. 2007. 2007-2008 School Calendar: Featuring the new Let's Read about Africa and the Sounds of African Music programs. Museum calendar. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, February 2008.
Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 27-28, no. 10.
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
