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CMA: African Art

CMA: African Art

@cmaafrican.bsky.social

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Sharing public domain works from the African Art department of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social

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CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 14h

Staff https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.204

Arguably the finest surviving carving of the Baboon Master in a Western collection, this staff features exceptionally sophisticated articulation and detailing. The circular pokerwork motif on one side—which echoes the treatment of the ears on the male heads supporting the baboon—may represent a shield or a leaf. The heads feature the characteristic ornament that signifies maturity and marriage; covered with a mixture of gum, charcoal, and oil, this hairdo, called <em>isicoco,</em> employed a fiber or sinew ring into which the wearer’s hair was woven.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 17h

Throwing Knife https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.333

Throwing Knife

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 19h

Ring https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.124

Ring

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 1d

Patten-type Shoes with Pegs https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.566

Patten-type Shoes with Pegs

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 1d

Pair of Figure Staffs (Edan Ogboni) https://clevelandart.org/art/1996.403

The chain connecting these two figures allows them to be worn in public by a member of the Ogboni or Oshugbo association as authority emblems. The male on the right gives the association’s typical salute by clasping his left fist on the right one, while the female on the left holds her breasts as a sign of welcome and generosity. The use of copper alloy and iron expresses Ogboni/Oshugbo’s concerns with longevity and durability.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 1d

Figurine https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.440

The Delenne’s stumbled upon this group of seven anthropomorphic figurines (2010.437–43) in an antiques shop in Nice during a holiday in the south of France in 1961. The carvings carry paperboard labels with inscriptions in French that indicate their ethnic and geographic provenance as well as some other details. Stemming from the Kongo region in West Central Africa, these seven sculptures feature a variety of gestures and poses, the use of mirror or glass for the eyes, and a red-white-black color scheme. They belong to the broad category of <em>minkisi</em> (singular <em>nkisi</em>), containers for medicines in which an ancestral spirit was believed to reside. Two of the group are minkisi of the <em>nduda</em> type, characterized by the attached "guns" loaded with gunpowder and used to shoot witches.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 2d

Figure of a Pair https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.460.2

The Ubangi region's history of successive migrations and assimilations has resulted in numerous exchanges of religious beliefs and ritual practices. Because little research has been conducted in the region, data regarding the production, use, and meaning of Ubangi sculpture are scant. Despite some stylistic traits, including the heart-shaped faces and the male's crested coiffure, this figure with its female pair is unlike any other in the Ubangian corpus. Based on indirect evidence, the pair has been attributed to the little-known Monzombo and is said to represent the culture's primordial couple. However, no other sculptures have been ascribed to the Monzombo, and we lack further details on their art.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 2d

Fertility Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.208

Fertility figures like these were used during the initiation ceremonies of pubescent girls. Integrating talismanic materials in their fabrication, the figures were meant to guarantee fertility and prevent or cure barrenness--a gourd’s womblike shape and the seeds within symbolize fecundity. They are sometimes also called "child figures" because a young bride would care for them as she would for her future children, carrying them on her back and sleeping with them until her first child was born. [Constantine Petridis Cleveland Museum of Art, (4/16/11-2/26/12); "The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southeast Africa"]

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 2d

Head https://clevelandart.org/art/1967.152

Among the Lobi, such a sculpture helps to ensure the efficacy of spirits associated with household shrines. The ultimate source of the form and iconography is spiritual. Speaking through diviners, the spriit specifies certain iconic details like coiffure or scarification patterns which must be strictly followed by the client and sculptor to avoid offending the spirit.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 3d

Pair of Figures https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.460

The Ubangi region's history of successive migrations and assimilations has resulted in numerous exchanges of religious beliefs and ritual practices. Because little research has been conducted in the region, data regarding the production, use, and meaning of Ubangi sculpture are scant. Despite some stylistic traits, including the heart-shaped faces and the male's crested coiffure, this figure pair is unlike any other in the Ubangian corpus. Based on indirect evidence, the pair has been attributed to the little-known Monzombo and is said to represent the culture's primordial couple. However, no other sculptures have been ascribed to the Monzombo, and we lack further details on their art.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 3d

Male Figure (Ofika) https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.33

Figures such as this, known as <em>ofika, </em>were central to the initiation practices and the enforcement of laws among the all-male Lilwa association, a hierarchical organization that served educational, judicial, political, economic, and ritual functions among the Mbole. Meant to instill a moral code and to act as a cautionary symbol during initiation for Lilwa novices, ofika figures are believed to represent criminals who were ritually hanged for transgressions against Lilwa laws. The figure’s encrusted surface imitates how members covered their bodies with a substance made of ashes and palm oil during burial rites.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 3d

Patten-type Shoe https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.566.1

Patten-type Shoe

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 4d

Plaque https://clevelandart.org/art/1999.1

Hundreds of brass plaques with figures in high relief once covered the wooden pillars of the palace courtyard. It cannot be confirmed whether the depicted scenes reflect rituals or ceremonies, or tell stories about historical events. Imported as a result of overseas trade with Europe, brass was the ultimate sign of wealth and the exclusive property of the king.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 4d

Male Figure of a Pair https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.459.1

Although this pair has been attributed to the Ngbandi, many of the style characteristics identified as typical of that culture are in fact shared with its neighbors the Ngbaka-Minagende, among others. Carving of paired figures is quite well documented among the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. But field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi. Were all such Ngbandi-style couples created by Ngbandi artists for a neighboring Ngbaka-Minagende community or another Ubangi group? Or do they instead refer to a more localized tradition that was never documented by foreign observers?

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 4d

Gold Weight: Geometric https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.265

The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom was derived primarily from its massive gold resources. Since at least 1600, small weights in brass and bronze were used to weight gold dust and nuggets. The royal court had the most elaborate store of weights, while commoners often had about a dozen. Their imagery falls into two broad cateogries: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, marked a wise person.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 6d

Figure Pair https://clevelandart.org/art/1996.402

Castings in brass or bronze depicting a female and male joined by a chain are one of the primary symbols of membership in the powerful Oshugbo/Ogboni society. This council of male and female elders selected rulers and decided all important judicial matters among the Yoruba. The paired figures symbolically refer to the society's membership and their communal decisions, as well as all women and men of the community, and the original founding couple.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 6d

Baton https://clevelandart.org/art/1992.1046

Baton

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 6d

Mother-and-Child Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/1931.426

Wearing an elaborate lobed headdress and a beaded waistbelt, and having filed teeth and red-powdered skin, this maternity figure seems to have once carried an ax and a cup, wooden imitations of the two most important chiefly attributes. Perhaps together with a male counterpart, it was secretly kept inside the ritual house, serving as a guardian of the chief’s treasure. Its style places it in the westernmost corner of Pendeland, between the Lutshima and Kwilu rivers.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 7d

Male Figurine or Finial https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.436

This male figurine was probably once attached to a scepter or perhaps even to a fly whisk. There are traces on the surface that indicate the sculpture may have carried a medicine-filled package on its abdomen. The man seated with legs crossed and wearing a coiffure of Portuguese inspiration may represent a chief. His broken-off right hand would have held the carved imitation of a root called <em>munkwiza</em>, one of the most important chiefly medicines often buried in the earth of a chief 's compound. Perhaps the smaller figurine on the rear of the work, beneath the root-chewing chief, depicts a child holding onto his parent's back, though such imagery is more typically seen on female sculptures.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 7d

Figurine https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.437

The Delennes stumbled upon this group of seven anthropomorphic figurines (2010.437-443) in an antiques shop in Nice during a holiday in the south of France in 1961. The carvings carry paperboard labels with inscriptions in French that indicate their ethnic and geographic provenance as well as some other details. Stemming from the Kongo region in West Central Africa, these seven sculptures feature a variety of gestures and poses; the use of mirror or glass for the eyes; and a red-white-black color scheme. They belong to the broad category of minkisi (sing. nkisi), containers for medicines in which an ancestral spirit was believed to reside. Two of the group are minkisi of the nduda type, characterized by the attached "guns" loaded with gunpowder and used to shoot witches.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 7d

Prestige Staff https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.205

Prestige Staff

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 8d

Helmet https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.5

This type of helmet used by the Oro association, is often mistaken for the more common Egungun. While Egungun masquerades are performed to honor an individual's ancestors, Oro masquerades are performed in conjunction with the actual funeral of a Yoruba person. The Oro association is very secretive, and the visibility of helmets like this one is generally restricted. Oro is also responsible for carrying out criminal sentences, such as collecting fines, repossessing goods, and executing those convicted of a capital crime. The female figure suspended from the back of the horns may reference the victims of Oro executions. This work has been attributed to the Esubiyi School of Abeokuta, founded about 1860.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 8d

Male Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.451

Its visual impact and workmanship suggest that this figure was used by an extended family rather than an individual. The raffia skirt around the waist and the blue and white beads are indicators of leadership. The metal appliqué covering the face and the metal blades that hedge the headgear refer to the blacksmith, a culture hero celebrated in a Songye myth narrating the formation of the state. The metal strips on the skeletal face are said to relate to lightning, signaling the figure's role as a powerful anti-sorcerer, but the contrast between white iron and red copper symbolically alludes to the ambivalent powers of the figure.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 8d

Pipe Bowl https://clevelandart.org/art/2012.42

Pipe Bowl

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 9d

Feast Ladle https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.52

Feast Ladle