Female figure
A columnar anthropomorphic female figure in wood, prolonged at its lower end by an iron rod affixed to its feet and projecting downwards. The stylized body is carved as a column defined to fit within a 1 ½ inch diameter. The diminutive round head presents abbreviated facial features: a straight nose, small button eyes, a mouth defined by a horizontal incision and C-shaped ears. An inverted conical form at the top of the head could represent of a vessel. A bulging tubular neck marks the transition between the head and elongated torso. Triangular breasts pointing downwards add definition to the upper-part of the torso, and are framed by the forward-angled shoulders. The long and narrow arms are carved alongside the body and angle sharply backwards at the elbow. This simple shift transforms the torso into a dynamic diamond-shape that, in the back, looks like an hourglass. Only the extremity of the arms, or hands, lift away slightly from the body. The short legs standing apart are about the same height as the head. Seen in profile, they form a lozenge, the knees bending both forward and backward. The feet form a narrow platform embedded into the tapered iron rod.
In the early 2000s, scholar Richard Fardon and Christine Stelzig created an almost comprehensive inventory cataloguing one hundred existing Chamba sculptures collected over the course of the 20th century, identifying formal groupings and corpus by identifiable artists. This example belongs to an extent group of 43 columnar single iron-shod figures, either female, male, or of unidentifiable gender. The limited contextual information concerning their significance alludes to their placement in sacred groves. Using the iron rod to stabilize them upright into the ground, the figures would have functioned as male/female pairs and would have been used in cults controlling misfortune that received regular, periodic, or event-contingent offerings.
In the early 2000s, scholar Richard Fardon and Christine Stelzig created an almost comprehensive inventory cataloguing one hundred existing Chamba sculptures collected over the course of the 20th century, identifying formal groupings and corpus by identifiable artists. This example belongs to an extent group of 43 columnar single iron-shod figures, either female, male, or of unidentifiable gender. The limited contextual information concerning their significance alludes to their placement in sacred groves. Using the iron rod to stabilize them upright into the ground, the figures would have functioned as male/female pairs and would have been used in cults controlling misfortune that received regular, periodic, or event-contingent offerings.
Artwork Details
- Title: Female figure
- Artist: Chamba artist
- Date: First half of 20th century
- Geography: Nigeria, Middle Benue River region
- Culture: Chamba peoples
- Medium: Wood, iron
- Dimensions: H. 16 3/4 x W. 1 3/4 x D. 1 5/8 in. (42.5 x 4.4 x 4.1 cm.)
- Classification: Wood-Sculpture
- Credit Line: Gift of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2018
- Object Number: 2018.925.2
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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