A-Tshol (Shrine Figure Headdress)

CultureBaga peoples

Date19th century

MediumWood and brass-coated ferrous tacks

DimensionsOverall: 20 7/8 × 26 3/4 inches, 10.5 lb. (53.02 × 67.95 cm, 4.76 kg)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund

Object number2003.17

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionThe object is a representation of a human head. There is an elongated "beak" on the front of the head with a feature of a human nose and brow at the junction of the "beak" and head. The head sits high on a shaft of wood that represents a neck with a prominent Adam's-apple. The bottom end of this shaft fits into a hole in a circular wooden "collar" that sits on an openwork "stool". The head of the piece is also an openwork form with ridges dividing it into four quadrants. The surface of the back half of the head and all of the neck are glossy and sticky with a coating of oil, presumbably palm oil. Brass headed iron tacks are used as decorative elements on the head and stool.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

African Aesthetics: The Carlo Monzino Collection, The Center for African Art, New York, May 7-September 7, 1986, no. 18.

African Aesthetics: The Carlo Monzino Collection, Miyagi Museum of Art, April 3-May 9, 1993; Fukui Fine Arts Museum, May 14-June 6, 1993; The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, June 12-July 11, 1993; Sogo Museum of Art, July 28-August 22, 1993; Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, August 28-September 26, 1993; Hokkaido Hakodate Museum of Art, October 2-November 6, 1993; Kurashiki City Art Museum, November 13-December 19, 1993, no. 16.

Gallery Label

Shrine figures, such as this example, which combine a head with human features, a long neck inserted into an elder's stool and a bird-like beak are called A-Tshol. The reference to birds may refer to their role as spiritual messengers. A-Tshol represent a powerful supernatural being often identified with the supreme creator-god and the civilizing forces of agriculture. They are housed in clan shrines and are ritually "fed" by applying palm oil to their surfaces (seen here exuding from this heavily oiled sculpture). On important ritual occasions, the figures are displayed upon the head of a dancer whose movements are supernaturally directed by the A-Tshol.

Provenance

With Emil Storrer (1917-1989), Zurich, by 1960 [1];

Dr. V. L. Wilson, United Kingdom, by November 20, 1967;

Purchased at Wilson’s sale, Primitive Art and Indian Sculpture, Sotheby’s London, November 20, 1967, lot 93, by Charles Ratton (1895-1986), Paris, 1967-ca. 1978 [2];

Purchased from Ratton by Carlo Monzino (1931-1996), Milan, Italy and Lugano, Switzerland, ca. 1978-1996 [3];

Monzino heir, 1996 [4];

With L & R Entwistle & Co., Ltd., London, by 2003;

Purchased from Entwistle by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2003.

NOTES:

[1] This headdress was first published in Hans Himmelheber, Negerkunst und Negerkünstler (Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1960), 127-128 , for which Storrer provided the illustration. According to the African Heritage Documentation & Research Centre database, www.ahdrc.eu, Object no. 0055766, this headdress was “field collected” by Storrer.

[2] Catalogue of Primitive Art and Indian Sculpture, The Property of Dr. V. L. Wilson… (London: Sotheby & Co., 1967), 50, price list with buyers’ names, Spencer Art Reference Library, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

[3] According to L & R Entwistle & Co, Ltd, in documentation provided at the time of the object’s purchase, NAMA curatorial files.

[4] Ibid.

Published References

Hans Himmelheber, Negerkunst und Negerkünstler (Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1960), 127-128, (repro.).

Catalogue of Primitive Art and Indian Sculpture, The Property of Dr. V. L. Wilson… (London: Sotheby & Co., 1967, 50, (repro.).

African Aesthetics: The Carlo Monzino Collection, exh. cat. (New York: Carlo Monzino and The Center for African Art, 1986), 26, 213, (repro.).

African Aesthetics: The Carlo Monzino Collection, exh cat. (Tokyo: Bijutsukan Renraku Kyōgikai, 1993), 184, (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 246-47, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.