Male figure
probably 1800s
Maker Unknown
African Art
Male figure, probably 1800s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Benue River Valley, Unidentified maker. Copper alloy; height: 44.7 x 22.7 x 9.6 cm (17 5/8 x 8 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2016.57 Realized in a very distinctive style using the lost-wax method, this figure’s cultural origin and function is limited because it was removed from Nigeria during that country’s turbulent civil war of the late 1960s. Perhaps it was once part of an altar or shrine dedicated to a guardian or tutelary spirit. Connotations of prestige and wealth may explain why copper-alloy objects were diffused across vast territory and inherited over many generations.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- Copper alloy
- Dimensions
- height: 44.7 x 22.7 x 9.6 cm (17 5/8 x 8 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
- Departments
- African Art
- Accession Number
- 2016.57
- Credit Line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Exhibitions
- The Language of Beauty in African Art, <em>The Art of Metal in Africa. </em>African-American Institute, New York, NY (October 7, 1982-January 5, 1983); The Institute for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, TX (February 3-April 10, 1983); Charles W. Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA (June 18-September 5, 1983)., <em>Africa: The Art of a Continent</em>. Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (October 4, 1995-January 21, 1996)., <em>Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley</em>. Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (February 13-July 24, 2011); National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC (September 14, 2011-February 12, 2012); Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Stanford, CA (May 16-September 2, 2012); Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, FR (November 12, 2012-January 27, 2013).
- Rights Statement
- CC0
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