H x W x D: 12.2 x 3.9 x 4.1 cm (4 13/16 x 1 9/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Nguniê River region, Gabon
Date:
Late 19th-early 20th century
Label Text:
This female figure with child is a small, beautiful enigma. Judging from its smooth surface, it was handled, rubbed and cherished by its owner, but its exact origin and use are not known. Recent publications describe small figures being used by nganga kosi, ritual specialists-diviners who investigate suspicious illnesses. The attribution to the Punu or related peoples is based not on field documentation but on a stylistic resemblance to the Ngunie River region's famed white-faced masks and larger wood female figures.
Older exhibition and auction catalogues identify miniature figures similar to this example as "Kongo" and group them with Kongo whistle finials associated with hunters and ritual specialists. While the hole in the base of this particular figure could have held the tip of a small antelope horn whistle, this is not true of all examples and the more general identification as a pendant could apply.
A more fundamental parallel exists with the minkisi ritual complex of the neighboring Kongo peoples. Although the modern political boundaries of Gabon and the Republic of the Congo separate the Punu and Kongo peoples, historical and cultural similarities connect them. Protective or medicinal amulets, pendants and miniature figures formed part of the paraphernalia of Kongo ritual specialists. Such small objects were worn by the human diviner or healer and also attached to a statue or assemblage of items.
Description:
Standing female figure with child in sling on her proper right hip. The figure has a central crest or hook hairstyle, collar necklace, V-form scarification on the chest and a smooth oil patina with a worn surface.
Provenance:
Charles Ratton, Paris, before 1950s
Donald Morris Gallery, Detroit and New York, 1996
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (deinstalled July 10, 2019)
African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 19, 2013
BIG/small, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 17-July 23, 2006
Published References:
Mellor, S. 2007. From Delicious to Not Quite Right: Subtleties in Discerning the Authenticity of African Art. Objects Specialty Group Postprints, Volume 14 CD. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, p.24, no.26.
Content Statement:
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