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Maternity Figure: Seated Mother and Child

17th–18th century

Not on view

Mother-and-child representations across the Cross River region pay tribute to women’s essential role in the growth, expansion, and prosperity of their families and communities. At the same time, they celebrate a profound biological connection and serve as a metaphor for future vitality.
In this mother-and-child pairing, the commanding mother gazes upward. Her powerful upright presence is softened with the horizontal extension of the child across her lap. The base of the child’s head rests on the mother’s left forearm. Its legs, bent at the knees, hang over the side of the mother’s right thigh. The mother’s breasts are defined in relief as pendant ovals. The child grasps and draws sustenance from the left breast.

Maternity Figure: Seated Mother and Child, Wood (apa tree), Mbembe peoples — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Maternity Figure: Seated Mother and Child, Wood (apa tree), Mbembe peoples

Maternity Figure: Seated Mother and Child, Wood (apa tree), Mbembe peoples

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

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Maternity Figure: Seated Mother and Child

Date: 17th–18th century

Geography: Nigeria, Ewayon River region, Cross River Province

Culture: Mbembe peoples

Medium: Wood (apa tree)

Dimensions: H. x W. x D.: 35 x 23 1/2 x 29 in. (88.9 x 59.7 x 73.7 cm)
Height with base: 36 3/4 in. (93.3 cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: Private Collection

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.