Buffalo Mask and Feather Costume (Primary Title)
Bushcow Mask and Feather Costume (Former Title)
Unknown (Artist)
19th–20th century
Bamum
87.464a-b
The Bamum live in a plateau region of Cameroon commonly known as the Grassfields. Their king is known as the fon. A retinue of other officials and counselors form what is known as the kwifoyn, an organization that assists and counterbalances the rule of the fon. They are also responsible for upholding community social values. Members of the kwifoyn perform in dramatic masking ceremonies on various special occasions, including events of state, celebrating the harvest, and commemorating the dead.
The African Cape Buffalo has been adopted as a symbol of royalty in the Grassfields kingdoms in recognition of its great strength and cunning. Images of buffalo appear on royal jewelry, on thrones, as palace decoration, and on masks. The right to use the buffalo image is bestowed by the king as a sign of high rank or authority within the community. Intelligent and normally peacefully, the African Cape Buffalo becomes fierce when threatened.
The watchful eyes, perked ears, and flaring nostrils on this expressive mask indicate the artist’s awareness of the animal’s latent power and ferocity. The feather costume denotes that this mask played the role of messenger, announcing decrees in the marketplace and informing the crown about the subject of a masquerade that is about to take place, so they will know whether to celebrate or to be solemn.
Bwiti Cult House Doorframe (Primary Title)
Door Frame and Lintel (Alternate Title)
Unknown (Artist)
19th–20th century
Tsogo
wood, paint
2006.15a-c
Entering an ebandza—the Bwiti house of ritual at the center of a Tsogo village—involved passing through a richly symbolic doorway covered with images like the ones on these two jambs and lintel. Bwiti is a system of beliefs, initiations, and moral philosophy around which Tsogo life is based. It probably originated with the Tsogo and has spread widely through Gabon, especially to the Kota and the Fang peoples. Central to Bwiti’s practice is ingestion of iboga, a hallucinogen made from the bark of the Tabernanthe iboga tree.
It is administered to new initiates so they can “leave their bodies,” both to see themselves and to communicate with the ancestors. During this process, initiates are closely supervised by a diviner and by an initiation “mother” and “father.” The four colors on the door—black, red, white, and yellow—match the four colors of the Kongo dikenga, the symbol of the life cycle around which this gallery is organized.
Elongated diamond shapes are viewed as canoes that transport the soul of the initiate from birth to death. These and other geometric motifs on the doorframe may refer to the geometric patterns and fractal visions that initiates experience when they close their eyes while hallucinating. The sun (at the top) and moon (crescents at the bottom) are also prominent on these “doors of life” and symbolize gender, the sun being male, the moon female.
The three suns likely refer to the three days of rituals that new Bwiti initiates undergo. The goal is emotional and spiritual rebirth for the young initiates, usually between age eight and thirteen, so they can take their place as adults in Tsogo society.
Chief's Staff (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
19th–20th century
Songye
wood, kaolin, iron, copper, tin or aluminum, brass tacks
92.241
This ornamented staff is an important part of a Songye chief’s regalia. He holds it in his right hand when swearing his oath of office and carries it with him for all official events and ceremonies.
The head on top of this staff bears a metal strip similar to the copper strip on the community power figure in the pedestal to the right. The shield-like form in the staff’s center is decorated both front and back with miniature masks, signifying the chief’s association with bwadi bwa kifwebe, a society that plays many roles in the life of the community and supports the chief’s economic and political authority.
Elephant Mask Ensemble of a Kuosi Society Member (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
19th–20th century
Bamileke
fabric, monkey fur, glass beads, feathers, reeds, string, horse tail, ivory
99.41.6a-t
Related Material:
Part of an ensemble "Elephant Mask Ensemble of a Kuosi Society Member" (99.41.1-6)
Elephants are symbols of political power in the highly stratified kingdoms of the Cameroon grasslands. The animal’s might and intelligence are associated with the fon, or king. Beadwork, too, is a sign of wealth and high rank. Thus, this mask ensemble symbolizes great power. The right to wear elephant masks is reserved for the governing society of the Bamileke, known as the kuosi, which includes royal family members, court officials, wealthy title holders, and great warriors who support the fon. The masks are worn every two years during special society meetings or for other important ceremonies, such as funerals for a fon or kuosi member.
Ga Wree-Wre Mask (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
19th–20th century
Dan
wood, metal, fiber, cowrie shells, glass beads, brass, bone, hand-woven cloth (the raffia skirt is not original)
92.242
The dramatic visual impact of African masks is evident in this solemn-looking judgment mask, known as Ga Wree-Wre. It walks about and sits, but does not dance. An interpreter who understands the mask’s strange, animal-like “language” accompanies it, communicating its messages to the assembled public.
Elements of the Ga Wree-Wre contrast the wilderness, symbolized by the brass leopard’s teeth and the raffia skirt, with the village, suggested by the human features, the headdress, and the woven cape.
King's Beaded Robe (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
early 20th century
Yoruba
glass beads, string, velvet, wool, damask
96.36
1-The colorful beadwork of a king’s regalia symbolizes his role as unifier of the various òrìsàs (deities) and cults followed by his people. Color selection in Yoruba beadwork reflects either the aesthetic preferences of the king or that of the beadworker. In this robe and other beaded regalia, the king becomes a symbol of the spiritual power, material wealth, and general well-being of his kingdom.
The face on the back of this beaded robe appears often in Yoruba beadwork and may represent either the orisa Oduduwa or the “inner face” of the king. In the Yoruba creation story, Oduduwa (along with other òrìsàs) created the world and humanity following orders from the supreme deity, Olodumare. Oduduwa was also the founder and first king of the Yoruba. Thus, faces like this one serve as reminders of earlier rulers, linking the reigning king with his royal ancestors. The wide, unblinking eyes are a reminder that the eyes of the king are watchful for all his people.
2-This grand Yoruba king’s robe is positioned at NOON in the life-cycle plan of the gallery.
According to the Kongo cosmogram, this stage of life, known as TUKULA, refers to ascendency, maturity, and responsibility.
Reliquary Guardian Figure (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
19th–20th century
Kota
wood, brass, copper
2003.14
Kota reliquary guardian figures such as this one fulfilled a protective function similar to the Fang guardian statue (at left). The base of this figure was originally lashed to a woven container holding the relics of an important ancestor. Like their Tsogo neighbors, whose doorframe for a Bwiti cult house stands nearby, the Kota follow Bwiti practices to honor and communicate with their ancestors.
The abstract design of this Kota figure is laden with symbolism that reflects the dikenga cosmogram of the neighboring Kongo people. Sheets of copper form a cross on the face, dividing it into quadrants, while the “legs” form a diamond shape. Both of these elements refer to the four daily phases of the sun. The crescent moon above the head indicates nighttime, when it is day n the realm of the ancestors.
Copper and its golden-toned alloy, brass, are preferred to gold in many regions of Africa. As a precious metal, the use of brass on a guardian figure honors the deceased. Like water, it is reflective and evokes the fluid boundary between the living and the dead; its yellow color is the dikenga symbol for midnight, when it is noon in the land of the dead.
Royal Scepter (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
ca. 19th century
Kongo, Yombe
ivory, iron, earth, resin
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Angola
85.591
This beautifully carved chief’s scepter is laden with symbols of power. The commanding figure sitting atop this impressive scepter holds a medicine horn and chews on a root used to make healing brews, signs that his reign with continue to prosper. The knob of resin above his chiefly crown encases earth that has been packed into a hollow in the head, linking him with the ancestors and declaring his mastery of magic.
Beneath him, a large bird denotes his spiritual transcendence. It stands on the back of an elephant, another reference to the chief’s lordly status. Cowrie shells, signs of wealth and good fortune, embellish the shaft of this magnificent symbol of office.
This scepter is from the Yombe subgroup of Kongo culture. The Yombe inhabit parts of both the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, and Cabinda, a province of Angola between the two countries.
Triptych Icon (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
1670–1720
Ethiopian
Tempera on gesso-covered wood panels
2015.266
In this icon, the Madonna and Child are flanked by Archangels and surrounded by images of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, apostles, and equestrian images of Saint George (left) and Saint Theodore (right). The work was likely painted in or around the city of Gondar, established as the Ethiopian capital by Emperor Fasilides in the mid-17th century. The icon’s vibrant palette and the prominent and lively eyes are hallmarks of work from what is known as the first Gondar period, roughly 1670-1720.
As objects of devotion, icons were constantly touched by the faithful seeking to absorb their mystical power by rubbing, tapping, and even scratching the surface. The loss of paint in certain areas is reveals the use of the icon in this way.
The pose of the Madonna and Child follows format of the famous icon in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome known as the Salus Populi Romani (The Salvation of the Roman People), believed to date from the 6th century and mythically supposed to have been painted from life by the apostle Luke. Prints reproducing that work were brought to Ethiopia in the late 16th century by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries during an “open” phase of the country. Although Fasiledes soon “closed” the borders and banished the Jesuits, the image-type was retained as a model for Ethiopian icon painting.
Wisdom Basket (Translation)
Kweemishaam’l (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
19th–20th century
Kuba
Raffia, cane, cowries, glass beads, copper
2008.21a-b
A wisdom basket, called kweemishaam’l in Kuba, is a prominent part of kingly regalia, serving as a container for royal amulets. When holding an audience with his people, the king rests his elbow on a wisdom basket as he speaks. The basket and its lid are framed in cane and covered by raffia cloth. The surface of this basket is elaborately decorated with cowries, glass beads, and copper disks in precisely organized designs. This object reveals the artist’s mastery of geometric patterning, which is the fundamental characteristic in the design of Kuba regalia and art.
Woman's Necklace (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
20th century
Maasai
Glass beads, wire
Yorumlar