Diviner's Figure

CultureSenufo

Dateearly 20th century

MediumWood and cloth

DimensionsOverall: 14 × 3 15/16 × 3 15/16 inches (35.56 × 10 × 10 cm)

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

Object number95-19 A,B

On View

Not on view

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionAbstract seated female with arms to the side and hands framing the arching torso. There is a crested hairstyle which supports a globular pot with removable lid decorated with a chameleon.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, Museum of Primitive Art, New York, NY, February 20-May 5, 1963; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, July 12-August 11, 1963; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, September 17-October 27, 1963, no. 104.

Anspach Collection, University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, South Bend, IN, March 17-May 12, 1968, no. 46.

Set, Series and Ensembles in African Art, The Center for African Art, New York, NY, July 17-October 27, 1985, no. 17.

Gallery Label

This figure displays Senufo ideals of mature womanhood-adult composure signified by a small mouth and upright bearing, and maternity expressed by prominent breasts and abdomen. By extension, the figure recalls the Ancient Mother of the matrilineal Senufo people. If paired with a somewhat smaller male figure, it would have been recognized as half of the original Ancestral Couple. Such aesthetically pleasing images attract and give human form to the invisible bush spirits who facilitate a Senufo diviner's communication with the supernatural world. The chameleon on the container, balanced upon the figure's head, symbolizes the spiritual powers of transformation.

Provenance

With J. J. Klejman, New York, NY [1];

Purchased from Klejman by Ernst (1914-2002) and Ruth Anspach, New York, NY, by February 20, 1963-at least October 1985 [2];

Dr. Jeffrey S. Hammer (1941-2016), Chicago, IL, after October 1985-1995 [3];

Purchased from Hammer by the dealer Michael Oliver, New York, NY, 1995;

Purchased from Michael Oliver by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1995.

NOTES:

[1] According to Michael Oliver, in an email to MacKenzie Mallon, Specialist, Provenance, September 30, 2021, NAMA curatorial files.

[2] Ernst and Ruth Anspach lent this figure to Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, Museum of Primitive Art, New York, NY, February 20-May 5, 1963 and Set, Series and Ensembles in African Art, The Center for African Art, New York, NY, July 17-October 27, 1985.

[3] According to Michael Oliver, in documentation provided at the time of the object’s purchase, NAMA curatorial files.

Published References

Robert Goldwater, Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, exh. cat. (New York: Museum of Primitive Art, 1964), 25, plate 104, (repro.).

Anspach Collection , exh. cat. (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, 1968), 2.

George Nelson Preston, Set, Series and Ensembles in African Art, exh. cat. (New York, NY: The Center for African Art, 1985), 90.

Calendar of Events (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, May 1996), 2, (repro.).

Joyce M. Youmans, “African Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,” African Arts 33, no. 4 (Winter 2000), 49, 56-57, (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), 250, (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.