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Male Figure

Yungur/Mboi/'Bǝna peoples

19th century or before

Not on view

The Yungur, Mboi, and ‘Bəna peoples, who live directly to the north of the Mbembe region, produced similar figurative sculpture with distinctive broad shoulders and chests, extended volumetric torsos, and trunk-like thighs. These tributes to courageous figures and carved memorials to the dead were included in post-burial rites held to honor and secure the blessings of departed ancestors and were carried like bodies of the deceased during ritual dances.
A cluster of eight life-size male figures were only vaguely attributed to northeastern Nigeria when they arrived in Paris in 1969. Minimally documented, they appeared in the West around the same time as the Mbembe figures.

Male Figure, Wood, Yungur/Mboi/'Bǝna peoples — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Male Figure, Wood, Yungur/Mboi/'Bǝna peoples

Male Figure, Wood, Yungur/Mboi/'Bǝna peoples

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Male Figure

Date: 19th century or before

Geography: Nigeria, Benue River region

Culture: Yungur/Mboi/'Bǝna peoples

Medium: Wood

Dimensions: H. x D. x W.: 35 7/16 × 6 11/16 × 9 7/16 in. (90 × 17 × 24 cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: Itzikovitz Collection, Paris

Accession Number: SL.20.2014.4.1

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.