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Female figure

National Museum of African Art

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Object Details

Baule artist
Label Text
Baule artists create wood sculptures covered in gold (sika blawa) as prestige items displayed for public ceremonies. Other ethnic groups in central and southern Côte d'Ivoire also use this type of gold-covered regalia. This figure was collected in 1973 among the Wan peoples, who neighbor the Baule to the west. It had been used in women's initiation ceremonies for more than 20 years.
Description
Gold leaf covered wood figure of a seated female with chewing stick in her proper right hand, her proper left hand on her knee, and wearing a loin cloth, pendant earrings, multiple peaked hairstyle and ringed neck.
Provenance
Philip Ravenhill, collected Kounaïri, Côte d'Ivoire, 1974 to 1995
Exhibition History
Good As Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 24, 2018-February 2, 2020; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, September 16, 2020-January 3, 2021
From Baga to Yoruba: Treasures of African Art, Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw, Michigan, November 5, 2006-January 28, 2007
Credit Line
Gift of Philip L. Ravenhill and Judith Timyan
Mid-20th century
Object number
95-4-1
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Figure
Medium
Wood, gold leaf
Dimensions
H x W x D: 24.4 x 8.2 x 8 cm (9 5/8 x 3 1/4 x 3 1/8 in.)
Geography
Kounaïri, Côte d'Ivoire
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Object Name
sika blawa
National Museum of African Art
Topic
Initiation
male
female
Record ID
nmafa_95-4-1
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7eb46d8c5-2e1f-4a7e-8b6b-9ea17f629927

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  • Good as Gold

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