Maternity figure

CultureYoruba

Date20th century

MediumIvory

DimensionsOverall: 3 7/8 × 1 5/8 × 1 7/8 inches (9.84 × 4.13 × 4.76 cm)

Credit LineGift of Adele and Donald Hall

Object number2025.33.6

On View

Not on view

Terms

DescriptionThis small figurine depicts a mother sitting on a round stool holding an infant on her lap. The woman's helmet-like hair rests in tiny spiked rows. The large head has large, flat ears, goggle-like eyes with incised eyebrows and pupils, a wide nose, large lips, and a pointed chin. The conical breasts protrude. A wristlet is located on each elongated arm, and a strand of ivory beads decorate her waist. The baby's body is round; the proper left hand is carved with some attention to detail. Like its mother, it has a wide, flat nose, gogglelike eyes, and full lips. The surface is characterized by a rich yellow patina with accents of red.

When a barren Yoruba woman was directed by a diviner (babalawo) to petition an ancestor for the blessing of fertility, she placed a statue of a woman and child on an altar in a shrine.Provenance

Provenance

With Jan Baum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, until 1981;

Purchased from Jan Baum Gallery by Adele (1932-2013) and Donald (1928-2024) Hall, Kansas City, MO, 1981-2024;

Their gift, through the Donald J. Hall Revocable Trust to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2025 [1].

NOTES:

[1] Prior to being formally accessioned into the collection, the object was a promised gift made by the Hall family in 2009 in honor of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's 75th anniversary.

Published References

David A. Binkley, A Private Passion: The Donald and Adele Hall Collection of African Art (Seattle: Marquand Books, 2015), 159, (repro.).

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