Figure

CultureBembe

Dateearly 20th century

MediumWood

DimensionsOverall: 5 1/4 × 2 1/4 × 2 1/4 inches (13.34 × 5.72 × 5.72 cm)

Credit LineGift of Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, 2025

Object number2025.56.2

On View

Not on view

Terms

DescriptionStanding human figures, mostly male, with flexed legs, elongated trunk covered with abstract decorative relief designs denoting keloids, and wide feet, are characteristic of these statuettes. The male figure has a tab-like beard and eyes enhanced with pieces of porcelain. He is also holding a sword in one hand and another object in the other, possibly a pottery bottle. The image depicts a hunter-warrior or spiritual leader, which turn represents ancestors. This figure functions as a fetish, the magical substance that gives the carving spiritual power is inserted in an anal orifice that is a requisite part of the sculpture.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Selections from the Ralph T. Coe Collection of African Art, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, October 3-December 15, 2002.

Provenance

With Taylor Dale Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, by January 6, 2000;

Purchased from Taylor Dale Gallery by Ralph T. Coe (1929-2010), Santa Fe, NM, January 6, 2000-2010 [1];

His bequest to the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, NM, 2010-2025;

The Coe Center's gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2025.

NOTES:

[1] According to object documentation provided by the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts at the time of the object's gift, see Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.

Published References

Oberlin College, Selections from the Ralph T. Coe Collection of African Art (Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College, Allen Memorial Art Museum, 2002), 34-35, 46, (repro.).

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