H x W x D: 94 x 29.2 x 18.1 cm (37 x 11 1/2 x 7 1/8 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Bo village, Sierra Leone
Date:
Early to mid-20th century
Label Text:
This figure and its matching female companion (73-7-99), was purchased by noted LIFE photographer Eliot Elisofon from the New York branch of Stolper Galleries in 1959. At the time, Elisofon believed the pair to be from Sierra Leone, even though they were sold as being from neighboring Liberia. Accordingly, a later memo from the Stolper Gallery identified them as being collected in the village of Bo, Sierra Leone. However, the pair has in other published instances been identified as being from Northern Nigeria, and as Mossi, Burkina Faso.
However, in 1980, African art expert Hélène Leloup considered the wood as too light to be from Sierra Leone or Nigeria, arguing that such light woods were used in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Tanzania, and locating the figures there.
Recent research identified similar figures as part of the Komtin society, and therefore possibly Montol, from Northern Nigeria. If this is the case, the figures may have been used in determining the causes of illnesses, as the society is a men's association concerned with curing and herbalism.
For now, the figures remain a mystery, but stand as a testament to the difficulty of "assigning" a cultural label to artworks that may or may not fall within the boundaries of type, or when there is little historic or written accounts.
Description:
Wood standing male figure with arms straight to its side and a long, attenuated neck with a suggested Adam's apple; set on a small rounded, base. The simplified face has a pierced rectangular mouth, small pierced eyes and a bullet shaped head. The figure has the remainder of black and red pigment or paint on the body.
Provenance:
Eliot Elisofon, New York, 1959 to 1973
Purchased from Robert L. Stolper, Stolper Galleries of Primitive Arts, New York (branch), May 5, 1959
Exhibition History:
Tribute to Africa: The Photography and the Collection of Eliot Elisofon, Museum of African Art, Frederick Douglass House, Washington, D.C., June-December 1974.
Published References:
Museum for African Art. 1974. Tribute to Africa: The Photography and the Collection of Eliot Elisofon. Washington D.C.: Museum of African Art, p. 29 (pictured with 73-7-99).
Robbins, Warren. 1966. African Art in American Collections. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, nos. 204 and 205.
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/
