The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Male figure

Male figure

probably 1800s
Copper alloy
height: 44.7 x 22.7 x 9.6 cm (17 5/8 x 8 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2016.57
Location: not on view

Description

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.
  • 1968-1993
    Acquired by Helene Kamer (now Leloup) in Nigeria (Biafra) in 1968 or 1969
    1993-2016
    Helene and Philippe Leloup, New York, NY, sold to a private collector
    1993-2016
    Private collector, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2016-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Brincard, Marie-Thérèse, and Evelyn Fischel. The Art of Metal in Africa: New York, N.Y.: African-American Institute, 1982. cat. no. H5
    Phillips, Tom. Africa: The Art of a Continent. Munich: Prestel, 1995. cat. no. 5.31
    Grunne, Bernard de. "A Missing Link?: Notes on an Early Proto-Jukun Seated Terracotta Figure". Tribal: the Magazine of Tribal Art. 10 (2) no. 39 (Autumn-Winter 2005): 130-131. Reproduced: p. 130, fig. 1
    Berns, Marla, Richard Fardon, Sidney Littlefield Kasfir, and Jörg Adelberger. Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum at UCLA, 2011. cat. no. 6.20
    Berns, Marla C, and Richard Fardon. “Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley.” African Arts 44, no. 3 (Autumn 2011): 16–37. Reproduced: p. 19, fig. 6
    Petridis, Constantine. “Acquisition Highlights 2016: African Art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 57, no. 2 (March/April 2017): 17. Reproduced: P. 17; Mentioned: P. 7, 17.
    Rondeau, James, Constantijn Petridis, Yaëlle Biro, Herbert M. Cole, Kassim Kone, Babatunde Lawal, Wilfried Van Damme, and Susan Mullin Vogel. The language of beauty in African art. 2022.
  • The Language of Beauty in African Art. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (April 3-July 31, 2022) https://kimbellart.org/exhibition/language-beauty-african-art; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (November 20, 2022-February 27, 2023) https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9344/the-language-of-beauty-in-african-art.
    Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley. 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).
    Africa: The Art of a Continent. Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (October 4, 1995-January 21, 1996).
    The Art of Metal in Africa. 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).
  • {{cite web|title=Male figure|url=false|author=|year=probably 1800s|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2016.57