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Diviners' Prescriptions |
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broad range of sculptural works prescribed for individual clients as an
outcome of consultations with diviners, given concrete and enduring form,
is presented in catalogue numbers 36 through 43. Such
works are usually highly personalized, created in response to the specific
needs of individuals as they arise. Guro and Lobi diviners often counseled
their clients to commission male and female figures from artists and to
place them in shrines, often as the result of specific directives from spirit
entities. Similarly, the Luluwa and Igbo maternity figures were designed
to assist women afflicted with infertility and were placed in shrines as
celebrations of the desired state of motherhood. The miniature protective
pendants worn by Bobo, Lobi, Nunuma, Senufo, and Tusya individuals are items
of personal adornment prescribed by a diviner to shield them from harm;
the iconography of such images is customized so that it relates directly
to the identity of the patron. Although little idiosyncratic detail is discernible
in the highly reductive, abstract design of Moba shrine figures, they too
are closely tied to the well-being of a specific household. |
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36.
Shrine Figures: Couple (Zuzu or Mi Iri Ni) Guro, Côte d'Ivoire Wood, pigment, beads; male: H. 71.1 cm (28 in.); female: H. 63.5 cm (25 in.) 20th century Private collection |
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37. Shrine Figures: Couple (Bateba Phuwe) Lobi, Burkina Faso Wood; male: H. 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.); female: H. 46.4 cm (18 1/4 in.) 20th century Thomas G. B. Wheelock Collection |
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38. Three Protective Pendants 19th–20th century Thomas G. B. Wheelock Collection a. Crescent Pendant: Female Figure; Nuna, Burkina Faso; Copper alloy; 9 x 8.5 cm (3 1/2 x 3 3/8 in.) b. Crescent Pendant: Mask; Nuna, Burkina Faso; Copper alloy; 9.5 x 9.1 cm (3 3/4 x 3 5/8 in.) c. Pendant: Four Figures Tusya, Burkina Faso; Copper alloy; 7.3 x 7 cm (2 7/8 x 2 3/4 in.) |
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39. Clan Shrine Figure (Tchitcheri Sakwa) Moba, Togo Wood; H. 135 cm (53 1/8 in.) 19th–20th century The Horstmann Collection, Zug, Switzerland |
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40. Figure: Janus (Bocio) Fon, Republic of Benin Wood, bone, wire, organic material; H. 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.) 19th–early 20th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Denise and Andrew Saul Philanthropic Fund Gift, 1984 (1984.190) |
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41. Maternity Figure (Ntekpe) Igbo, Nigeria Terracotta; 32.4 x 13.3 x 12.7 cm (12 3/4 x 5 1/4 x 5 in.) 19th–20th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Drs. Herbert F. and Teruko S. Neuwalder, 1982 (1982.395.2) |
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42. Maternity Figure (Bwanga Bwa Cibola) Luluwa, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood; 28.9 x 8.6 x 8.2 cm (11 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 3 1/4 in.) Mid to late 19th century The Art Institute of Chicago, Wirt D. Walker Endowment Fund 1993.354 |
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43. Personal Power Figure (Nkishi) Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood, metal; H. 21.8 cm (8 5/8 in.) Late 19th–early 20th century Private collection |
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