BERMUDA NATIONAL GALLERY

Transcription

City Hall & Arts Centre
Church Street, Hamilton
(441) 295-9428 • www.bng.bm • [email protected]
AFRICAN
African Collection & Visions for the Future
CONTENTS
Map of Africa and its Peoples.......................................................................................... 1
Introduction to The African Collection............................................................................. 2
Face Mask Surmounted by a Hornbill, Yohoure Peoples, Ivory Coast............................. 3
Female Figure, Bamana Peoples, Mali............................................................................ 4
Ceremonial Bowl, Grassfields Peoples, Cameroon.......................................................... 5
Mask, Bete-Niabewa Peoples, Ivory Coast...................................................................... 6
Standing Figure, Luba Peoples, Zaire.............................................................................. 7
Kente Cloth, Asante Peoples, Ghana............................................................................... 8
Face Mask, Guro Peoples, Ivory Coast............................................................................ 9
Female Figure with Bowl, Dogon Peoples, Mali.............................................................. 10
Face Mask, Dan Peoples, Liberia..................................................................................... 11
Night Society Mask, Bangwa Peoples, Cameroon........................................................... 12
Sande Helmut Mask, Bass Peoples, Liberia..................................................................... 13
Helmut Mask: Deguele, Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast...................................................... 14
Door, Dogon Peoples, Mali.............................................................................................. 15
Chi-Wara Headdress, Bambara Peoples, Mali................................................................ 16
Head: A-Tshol, Baga Peoples, Guinea............................................................................. 17
Hermaphrodite Figure, Dogon Peoples, Mali................................................................... 18
Face Mask, Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast......................................................................... 19
Female Figure, Asante Peoples, Ghana............................................................................ 20
Staff of Office, Chokwe Peoples, Angola......................................................................... 21
Zoomorphic Mask, Bamana/ Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast............................................. 22
Prestige Stool, Yoruba Peoples, Nigeria.......................................................................... 23
“Student” from the Book Reader Series, Jonothan Mhondorohuma............................... 24
Zoomorphic Headdress, Bamana Peoples, Mali............................................................. 25
Reliquary Figure, Kota Peoples, Gabon........................................................................... 26
Chi-Wara Headdress, Bamana Peoples, Mali.................................................................. 27
Mother and Child, Igbo Peoples, Nigeria.......................................................................... 28
Zoomorphic Mask, Grassfields Peoples, Cameroon........................................................ 29
Seated Figure of a Man, Djenne....................................................................................... 30
Hawk Mask, Bwa Peoples, Burkina Faso......................................................................... 31
Kola Nut Bowl, Grassfields Peoples, Cameroon.............................................................. 32
6TH INTERNATIONAL
AFRICAN DIASPORA HERITAGE TRAIL CONFERENCE 2010
10TH ANNIVERSARY
HISTORY | CULTURE | GLOBAL COMMUNITIES | ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
a special production for the African Diaspora Heritage Trail,
Conference October 2010
Headdress, Ekoi Peoples, Cross River/ Nigeria/ Cameroon............................................ 33
Mask, Bamum Peoples, Cameroon.................................................................................. 34
Chi-Wara Headdress, Bamana Peoples, Mali.................................................................. 35
Prestige Seat, Chokewe Peoples, Angola........................................................................ 36
Seated Femal Figure, Dogon Peoples, Mali..................................................................... 37
Mother and Child, Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast.............................................................. 38
Royal Pipe Stem, Bamum/ Fumban Peoples................................................................... 39
Joined Pair, unknown ethnic group.................................................................................. 40
VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE............................................................................................ 41 - 46
B E R M U D A N AT I O N A L G A L L E R Y
MAP OF WEST AFRICA AND ITS PEOPLES
AFRICAN COLLECTION
AFRICAN
Collection
The African Collection consists of 37 works, representing
22 peoples from 12 countries in Sub Saharan, West Africa.
The holdings range from ritual sculpture, masks, functional
objects and textiles that came out of Africa in the 1940s
and 1950s. The Bermuda National Gallery began the collection
of African Art in 1996 to celebrate the heritage of people
living throughout the widespread African Americas. The
Collection is a celebration of African cultures, creativity, and
the important place of beauty in everyday African life.
As part of a social studies curriculum the African Collection
serves as an educational resource to the schools of
Bermuda and continues to be developed to present a multitude
of traditional African cultures.
1.
2.
Face Mask Surmounted by a Hornbill,
Yohoure Peoples, Ivory Coast.
wood
17 x 5 x 3 inches
Gift of Cyril and Dorothy Packwood
for Hamadi and Kebir Gadio
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Female Figure, Bamana Peoples, Mali.
wood
14 1/4 x 4 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches
Gift of Senator Terry E. Lister and Mrs. Lister
and Family
With both anthropomorphic and
zoomorphic qualities, this mask
Called nyeleni or little Nylele
called Gye is used by both
(“pretty little one” or “little
men’s and women’s associations.
ornament”)--a name frequently
Its horns may be those of a
given to a first-born daughter
waterbuck, while the surmounting
these figures depict the ideal
bird is the symbolic hornbill. The
qualities of young marriageable
mask is considered to be a male
women. A slender torso, swelling
and female simultaneously. As a
abdomen, firm breasts allude to
woman, it is said to bleed from
childbearing capacity, and faintly
the nose on the night of the full
incised patterns on the torso
moon, indicating its secret links
represent scarification marks
to women’s cycles and rites.
worn by adolescent Bamana
In its male incarnation, it can
girls. The figures are held during
spit fire and serves to announce
dances by young men who have
was, conflagration, and other
completed the six-year initiation
social upheaval.
cycle. The performances
serve to celebrate the men’s
new status and to advertise their
desires to meet young brides.
3.
4.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Ceremonial Bowl, Grassfields Peoples, Cameroon.
wood
11 1/2 x 8 x 8 inches
Mask, Bete-Niabwa Peoples, Ivory Coast.
wood, studs, hair and leather
15 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches
Gift of J.B. Astwood and Sons Limited
Gift of Shirley and Roderic Pearman, Ken and
Jo Carol Robinson
This well-used, finely patinated
Formerly used as “masks of war”
bowl was once the property of
Bete-Niabwa masks are now used
a Grassfields Fon or Noble, and
only for entertainment, funerals
was probably kept either for the
or to celebrate the end of a
offering of kola nuts, or for the
mourning period. In the past,
distribution of palm wine. The bowl
their function as war masks made
itself is patterned with geometric
symbolic reference to “war”
motifs that resemble cowrie shells,
waged against the malediction
symbols of wealth and worldliness.
of sorcerers and criminals. As
The entire receptacle rests upon
beliefs and practices associated
a platform composed of leopards
with witchcraft and sorcery have
carved in openwork relief. The
been repressed during and
leopard is a frequent emblem of
since colonialism, such masks
political rule in Africa, not only
are made and used for new
because of the animal’s
purposes. The masks are often
extra-ordinary intelligence and
owned by families and are passed
courage, but also for its limitless
down from father to son. Their
aggression and ferocious duplicity.
iconography combines human
and zoomorphic elements, mostly
notably the arcane buffalo.
5.
6.
Standing Figure, Luba Peoples, Zaire.
wood and beads
27 1/2 x 8 x 6 1/4 inches
Gift of Senator the Honorable Albert S. Jackson MBE JP,
Louise Jackson MBE JP, Deborah Jackson, Susan Jackson
Nearon, W. Wayne and Juliette Jackson and Family
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Kente Cloth, Asante Peoples, Ghana.
cotton and silk
80 x 126 inches
Gift of Dusty Hind and Barbara O’Shaughnessy
This figure may come from
Kente is a warp- emphasis fabric
the western frontiers of Luba
produced in Ghana by both the
influence, where it probably served
Asante and Ewe peoples. The
as a representation of an ancestral
Asante cloth tends to be more
being that was consecrated with
vibrant and stylized in the depiction
magical substances. The figure
of objects, while the Ewe use
wears a cruciform coiffure that
more muted colours and realistic
was common in the nineteenth
depictions woven into the cloth.
and early twentieth centuries,
All of the patterns used have a
and a conical iron pin is inserted
specific meaning and can be a
into its chest. Such pins are
powerful tool in the expression of
miniature representations of
ideas and politics. In 1951 Kwame
blacksmith’s anvil, and signify
Nkrumah, the first elected leader
the secret of the Luba kingdom’s
of Ghana, wore this pattern upon
success, for Luba associate the
his release from prison to signify
making of a king with the process
the historical beginnings of the
of transforming raw iron into
new nation. Historically Kente
useful weapons and tools. Luba
was used only by kings, now only
say that such pins are inserted into
a few patterns are reserved for
sculptures in order to enclose the
chieftains and royalty. The Mmeeda
spirit safely within the receptacle.
pattern of Kente is characterized
by thin stripes of red, back, yellow
7.
and white on various colour
backgrounds.
8.
Face Mask, Guro Peoples, Ivory Coast.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
wood and beads
27 1/2 x 8 x 6 1/4 inches
Female Figure with Bowl, Dogon Peoples, Mali.
wood
22 x 5 x 4 1/2 inches
Gift of Cyril and Dorothy Packwood
for Hamadi and Kebir Gadio
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Bert McPhee and Karen and Kevin
In the past, Guro sacred masks
The image of a woman
were worn by the highest authority
carrying a head load is not
in Guro society and had the power
purely anecdotal. Rather, among
to dispense justice, influence
Dogon, sculpture can be a
important decisions, and declare
means of acknowledging the
peace. Nowadays, most masks
work that a person has
are worn for the pure pleasure
performed during his or her
of dance and entertainment.
lifetime. At funerals, the toil of
Such festive masks do not receive
men and women throughout their
sacrifices and have no protective
lives is recalled and exalted
function; but they are still meant
in orations that enumerate their
to be innovative and striking.
labours, contributions, and
This elegant face mask belongs
personal sacrifices to their
to a category of masks that serve
families and communities.
to re-enact mythical events
during celebrations of a clan.
It is probably a female mask that
would have been worn with
ankle rattles and danced in a
restrained style to vocal and
flute music, as a counterpart to
a male antelope mask.
9.
10.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Face Mask, Dan Peoples, Liberia.
wood
9 x 6 x 3 1/2 inches
Night Society Mask, Bangwa Peoples, Cameroon.
wood with clay coating
17 x 14 1/2 x 11 inches
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. R. Delmont Simmons and
Edward and Olivia Simons
Gift of The Bermuda Arts Council
War masks of the Dan, which were
adopted from neighbouring Guerze
of Guinea, were the property of the
“Panther Society,” an organisation
dedicated to the maintenance
of social order and the organisation
of celebrations. The leader of the
organisation was always a highly
respected elder, who used masks
for purposes of decision-making
and pronouncing judgements.
Such a powerful mask neither
danced nor sang, and was never
to be seen by women or children.
The horns are said to increase the
affective impact of the mask upon
its spectators.
In the small kingdoms that
constitute the Bangwa peoples,
a powerful association called the
“Night Society” is charged with
the maintenance and enforcement
of social order. Its primary
instruments are its powerful
masks, which possess deliberately
distorted features to convey their
awe-inspiring, supernatural
dimension. The Night Society
carry out its tasks, which include
the pursuit of criminals and the
punishment of transgressors,
in the obscurity of night and in
secret anonymity. The masks
also appeared publicly in
commemorative death celebrations
for the king, his titleholders and
society members.
11.
12.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Sande Helmet Mask, Bass Peoples, Liberia.
wood
17 x 9 1/4 x 12 inches
Helmet Mask: Deguele, Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast.
wood
29 x 9 1/2 x 9 inches
Gift of Tom and Heather Conyers
for Allison and Christopher Conyers
Gift of Dr. Charles Zuill and Cheryl Jetter
Sande is a woman’s association
found in Sierra Leone, Guinea
and Liberia that is devoted to the
instruction and initiation of young
women into adulthood. It is one
of the few contexts in Africa
where women are the patrons,
owners, and performers of
masks. Masks are danced during
several episodes of the
coming-out ceremony of young
women following a period of
seclusion during which they
“die into Sande”, meaning that they
leave their old selves behind to
be reborn as fully initiated women.
The elaborate hairstyle and
A highly abstract helmet mask
with a minimalist figure rising on
top of a columnar ringed neck is
called deguele, and was always
danced in male/female pairs. This
is presumably the male figure of
a couple, since it lacks the breasts
prominent in female deguele
masks. The masks were highly
secret, danced in darkest night,
and only danced on the occasion
of burials and commemorative rites
for most senior members of the
society. One theory holds that the
power of the mask lies in the rings,
each corresponding to a value of
supernatural energy.
neckrings connote beauty, health,
and links with the spirit world.
13.
14.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Door, Dogon Peoples, Mali.
wood
72 x 36 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches
Chi-Wara Figure, Bambara Peoples, Mali.
wood, pigment, metal and nails
24 x 10 1/2 x 3 inches
Gift of Carol D. Hill
Anonymous Gift
Dogon are known for rich
iconography sculpted onto the
surfaces of doors and granary
shutters. The profuse images,
ranging from depictionof primordial
ancestors to symbolically
meaningful animals such as lizards
and crocodiles, are allusions to
mythology, cosmology, and deeply
nuanced beliefs.
This particular door merges such
traditional motifs with a more
recent iconography borrowed
from generic image pool that is
shared by African artists across
Chi-Wara headdresses embody
in their form and iconography
some of the essential virtues that
Bamana people associate with the
agricultural life. The headdresses
represent various bush animals
that crystallise the qualities of
champion farmers, most notably,
the grace and strength of the
dwarf and roan antelopes. During
performances, dancers imitate the
bounding leaps of the antelope to
infuse agricultural work with energy
and power.
the continent working primarily for
a foreign clientele and catering to
an avid tourist trade. The sticklike renderings of people carrying
head loads and pounding flour in a
mortar are created for an audience
with its own preconceived notions
15.
of “tribal” Africa.
16.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
A-Tshol Headdress, Baga Peoples, Guinea.
9 x 3 x 10 1/2 inches
Hermaphrodite Figure, Dogon Peoples, Mali.
wood
22 x 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches
Anonymous Gift
Anonymous Gift
A-Tshol is a highly stylised
The hermaphrodite with both
composite figure that resembles
male and female attributes is
a bird with a long pointed beak
one of many enigmatic themes
or a crocodile jaw. Such objects
in Dogon iconography that
were used to guard the sacred
have produced contradictory
precinct when initiations were
interpretations by scholars. Those
underway. Family shrines also were
who would read art as a direct
constructed to honour the A-Tshol,
translation of myth would say
which means “medicine,” and
that the figure represents one
which served as a protector and
of the eight Nommo, primordial
symbol of the human community.
aquatic beings who brought forth
In the past, the A-Tshol shrine
humankind. Others might argue for
received offerings of the first fruits
a more direct social message
of the harvest, to celebrate the
that within every human being
generosity of the ancestors.
exists a balance of male and
female qualities and attributes.
17.
18.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Face Mask, Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast.
bronze
12 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 3 inches
Female Figure, Asante Peoples, Ghana.
wood and metal
12 3/4 x 5 x 5 3/4 inches
Anonymous Gift
Anonymous Gift
Delicate face masks with
Although this work was once
buffalo symbolism are made
a full figure seated on a stool
by blacksmith groups who
with a nursing child in arm, the
organise their own initiations
majesty of the remaining fragment
into the Poro Association.
still conveys the importance of
This mask evokes the union of
childbearing and the continuation
the female deity, “Ancient Mother,”
of the matrilineal descent group
with the buffalo; the words for
of Asante people. Such sculptures
“mother” and “buffalo” are nearly
serve to celebrate a healthy birth
identical in Senufo language.
and the dignity and status that
The masks appear on the occasion
childbearing can bring to a woman.
of funerals, initiations, and
The coiffeur is the simple but
agricultural celebrations.
elegant swept back braids style of
the Asante.
19.
20.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Staff of Office, Chokwe Peoples, Angola.
wood
20 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 2 inches
Anonymous Gift
Among Chokwe peoples, staffs
serve purposes that range from the
particular to the extraordinary. Not
only do they function as walking
sticks and physical supports,
Zoomorphic Mask, Bamana/ Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast.
wood, cooper and ivory
30 1/2 x 19 1/4 x 4 inches
Anonymous Gift
but they also serve to legitimise
This headdress is called Kamalen
claims to power, settle disputes,
Sogo Koun -- “the animal of young
and honour lineage’s histories.
men.” It would have been danced
The Janus female heads on this
by members of the town youth
staff may commemorate particular
association, who sing the praises
ancestral spirits related to royal
of the mask, comparing it to silver,
lineages. The figures establish a
gold and other tokens of wealth
link with an ancestral past, which
and status. The large curved
legitimises and protects the chief’s
horns that dominate the piece are
claim to political authority. At the
suggestive of a bush cow, though
same time, the two-way gaze of
the mask includes a second set
the paired heads alerts spectators
of the straight horns likely of an
to the vigilant, all-seeing powers of
oryx, frequently seen in Chi-Wara
the chief.
crests. Like Chi-Wara, the Kamalen
Sogo Koun stresses the virility and
agricultural skills of young men as
they complete the education cycle
of Bamana initiation.
21.
22.
Prestige Stool, Yoruba Peoples, Nigeria.
wood
18 1/2 x 14 x 15 inches
Gift of Mr. Dusty Hind and Barbara O’Shaughnessy
AFRICAN COLLECTION
“Student” from the Book Reader Series,
Jonothan Mhondorohuma, Zimbabwe
Springstone
38 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 16 inches
Gift of Mr. Dusty Hind and Barbara O’Shaughnessy
The Yoruba people are the largest
Shona Sculpture, also called
ethnic nation in Africa. Although
Zimbabwe Sculpture is widely
most live in southwest Nigeria,
accepted as the most important art
there are over 25 million people
movement to emerge from Africa in
of Yoruba decent in other parts of
the twentieth century.
Africa and the Americas, including
Jonathan Mhondorohuma
Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, Haiti, and
learned the basics of
Bermuda as a consequence of the
sculpting while attending the
Atlantic slave trade.
“Tenegenenge” Sculpture Village.
In the Yoruba culture, stools
Mhondorohuma’s subject matter
are used to represent power and
is seen as classical and innovative
prestige of kings and important
almost always involving human
chiefs. A figure in the middle of
activity and ranging from cultural
a stool, serves as an ornamental
Shona customs to daily life. His
support in place of a column,
“Book Reader” series in particular
which literally as well as figuratively
has received wide acclaim and
supports the ruler. Beside the
is currently an area he continues
female figure in the stool on display
to explore. He is now a widely
are two smaller figures, possibly
exhibiting artist and is regarded
twins; male and female.
as one of the major talents of the
young Shona sculptors.
23.
24.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Reliquary Figure, Kota Peoples, Gabon.
wood. cooper and ivory
14 3/4 x 4 1/2 x 2 inches
Anonymous Gift
Among Kota peoples, relics
Zoomorphic Headdress, Bamana Peoples, Mali.
wood and rope
24 1/4 x 22 x 14 1/2 inches
belonging to deceased members
Anonymous Gift
where they could be visited,
This mask combines the features of a number
honoured and renewed on a
of animals, including the straight horns of
regular basis. The relics were
an antelope, the facial characteristics of a
kept inside of large baskets to
buffalo or “bush cow” and the long face of
which reliquary guardian figures
the aardvark. The bush cow is an animal that
were secured. Such figures
appears frequently in African art. Among Senufo
projected from the basket,
and related peoples, the buffalo stands for
their copper sheeting gleaming
much more than an animal and is a frequent
to deflect the advances of
poetic element in Poro initiations, songs and
aggressive trespassers. The
narratives. During phases of Poro initiation,
hairstyle is rendered as flanges
neophytes parade in horned wooden masks
surrounding the face to increase
called “head of the buffalo” and are believed
the protecting surface.
of extensive lineage groups were
guarded in sanctuary houses
to be physically transformed into buffalo,
which signifies the knowledge that is disclosed
during the course of initiation. The aardvark,
is another significant animal among Bamana,
for whom it is a symbol of determination and
25.
conscientiousness. This mask combines
features of both Senufo and Bamana style.
26.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Chi-Wara Headdress, Bamana Peoples, Mali.
wood and metal
32 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 3 inches
Mother and Child, Igbo Peoples, Nigeria.
terracotta
11 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches
Anonymous Gift
Anonymous Gift
Bamana peoples attribute
In the north eastern part of
agriculture fertility to the union
the Igbo region, many family
of male (sun) and female (earth
compounds possess a shrine
and water) principles. Through its
containing ceramic vessels
symbolic motifs and performances,
and/or figures made by women.
part of the Chi-Wara’s role is to
The purpose of the shrines,
inculcate cooperation between
which usually belong to the families
sexes. For this reason, Chi-Wara
of diviners or blacksmiths, is
are always danced in male/
to serve as a locus for indigenous
female pairs, and preparations
deities and those imported from
for the performances are based
the Cross River region to the east.
on a strict, but interdependent
A shrine will possess ceramics
division of labour: men always
in the form of men, women, and
perform the dances while women
mother/child figures, depending
provide the chorus and praise
upon what the deity requests
the virtues of ideal farmers; men
through dreams or divination.
prepare headdresses and dress
The figures serve as the “children
the dancers, and women wash
of the deity,” and are in the shrine
the costumes and provide the
to enhance and protect it.
jewellery for the headdresses that
will enhance the aesthetic impact
of the performance.
27.
28.
Zoomorphic Mask, Grassfields Peoples,
Cameroon.
wood
18 x 10 x 8 inches
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Seated Figure of a Man, Djenne.
terracotta sculpture
7 3/4 x 3 3/4 x 6 inches
Anonymous Gift
Anonymous Gift
The ethnic provenance of this
mask cannot be identified
with precision as it reflects
the aesthetics of a number of
Grassfields peoples. The mask
most probably represents a buffalo,
especially in its horns, muzzle,
and flat bovinous teeth. Grassfields
peoples associate buffalo with
royalty and authority, and buffalo
masks are danced by members
of regulatory societies at funerals
and other moments of crisis
and transition.
29.
30.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Kola Nut Bowl, Grassfields Peoples, Cameroon.
wood and pigment
36 1/4 x 15 x 18 1/2 inches
lid: 6 3/4 x 11 x 10 1/2 inches
Hawk Mask, Bwa Peoples, Burkina Faso.
22 1/2 x 94 1/2 x 17 3/4 inches
Gift of Students of the following Bermuda Schools:
Dellwood Primary, Saltus Grammar, Berkeley Institute,
Paget Primary, Montessori Academy, Gilbert Institute,
Heron Bay, Bermuda High School, Port Royal School,
Mount St. Agnes, St, George’s Preparatory School,
St. George’s Secondary, Sandys Secondary,
Warwick Secondary & Warwick Academy.
This horizontal plank mask with
white wings represents a hawk
and is one of many masks made
by Bwa peoples to represent the
life-giving force of wilderness
spirits. The hawk mask’s
performance consists of rapidly
rotating the mask vertically around
the dancer’s face both clockwise
and counter clockwise. The masks
are worn in funerals, initiations
and harvest celebrations to thank
the spirits for watching over the
Gift of Georgine Russell Hill and Family
Ornate kola bowls are among
the most important regalia in a
Cameroon Fon’s treasury. At every
important celebration, the Fon
offers kola nuts to his guests in
a gesture of hospitality, festivity,
and joy. To break a kola nut with
a ruler is regarded as the height of
welcoming generosity and trust.
The figure wears a prestige cap
reserved for high ranking men,
and his position atop an elephant
is a metaphor for the Fon’s
strength and sovereign authority.
Lizards are carved in relief around
the circumference of the bowl and
also on the lid, and may suggest
longevity and renewal of royal
authority.
village and for providing food and
sustenance to the living.
31.
32.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Headdress, Ekoi Peoples, Cross River, Nigeria/ Cameroon.
wood, skin and pigment, with a cane base
16 x 6 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches
Mask, Bamum Peoples, Cameroon.
wood and pigment
27 1/4 x 17 1/5 x 14 3/4 inches
Gift of Laura T. Gorham for Taylor M. Gorham
Gift of John Adams and Andrew Trimingham
Wooden heads covered with
Massive face masks were owned
antelope skin were used by certain
associations in the southeastern
part of Nigeria and western
Cameroon in ceremonies ranging
from entertainments to funerals.
The light brown colour indicates
that the figure is female, and
the hair is styled in an elaborate
coiffeur. The head rests on a
basketry flange that was secured
to the masquerader’s head by a
string and was worn with a cloth
costume.
and displayed by members of
important lineage groups in the
Cameroon highland kingdoms.
The purpose of the mask was to
reinforce the power and authority
of the king, and to enhance the
standing of their lineage groups.
Too large to be worn, they are
carried on the shoulder by the
retainer. The masks represent
noblemen with elaborately arched
headdresses and ornate crests.
Highly inflated cheeks are a
trademark of the Bamum style and
the abstracted spider motif of the
headdress is a symbol whose use
is restricted to royalty.
33.
34.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Chi-Wara Headdress, Bamana Peoples, Mali.
wood
15 x 4 1/4 x 24 inches
Prestige Seat, Chokewe Peoples, Angola.
wood
11 3/4 x 9 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches
Gift of Mr. Dennis Sherwin
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Butterfield
“Chi-Wara” means “farming beast”
and epitomises the qualities of
the ancient beings who brought
agriculture to the Bamana. Young
men dance with Chi-Wara crests
when they have completed an
initiation cycle, to demonstrate
their new-found status and their
potential to farm and provide for
a family. Their performances are
believed to increase the possibility
of a good harvest in the dry
season, and therefore to ensure
the perpetuation of the community
as a whole.
In many African kingdoms and
chieftaincies, seating privileges
indicate status and position, and
stools often serve both as literal
and metaphorical seats of power.
In each culture, stools are invested
with particular cosmological
significance. Among Chokwe
peoples, some prestige stools are
supported by caryatids, in this
case a female figure surrounded
by smaller figures. Like
neighbouring Luba, the female
figures supporting Chokwe stools
probably are not portraits of
specific women, but rather serve
as reminders of the important
place of women, in Chokwe history
and society. While the smaller
figures resemble children, they are
probably mahamba, protective
spirits that incarnate the ancestral
35.
wisdom and clairvoyance.
36.
Seated Female Figure, Dogon Peoples, Mali.
wood
26 x 7 x 7 1/4 inches
Gift of Michael, Anne, Keil and Jessica Mello
Sculptures that once served in
sacred contexts may now be
made for sale, for a foreign
clientele that does not ascribe the
same meaning or purposes to
the art. While this type of figure
may once have been used during
the initiation rites of Senufo
youth, it is now a symbol of
ethnicity and cultural identity
in the broader context of an
international art market. Hairstyles
and scarification patterns are
among the most powerful ways
to convey one’s ethnic origins
and personal history through
figurative sculpture. The radiating
scarification pattern that bisects
the navel is the crystallisation of
Senufo feminine identity.
37.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Mother and Child, Senufo Peoples, Ivory Coast.
wood
15 x 5 x 3 1/4 inches
Gift of Leon and Phylliss Simmons
Formerly used as “masks of war”
Bete-Niabwa masks are now used
only for entertainment, funerals
or to celebrate the end of a
mourning period. In the past,
their function as war masks made
symbolic reference to “war”
waged against the malediction
of sorcerers and criminals. As
beliefs and practices associated
with witchcraft and sorcery have
been repressed during and
since colonialism, such masks
are made and used for new
purposes. The masks are often
owned by families and are passed
down from father to son. Their
iconography combines human
and zoomorphic elements, mostly
notably the arcane buffalo.
38.
Royal Pipe Stem, Bamum/Fumban Peoples, Cameroon.
brass
42 1/4 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches inches
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Joined Pair, unknown ethinic group.
wood
15 x 5 x 3 1/4 inches
Gift of Georgine and Hilton Hill for Jay and Russell Butler
Gift of Bonnie Dodwell for
David, Brian, Jennifer and Christina Dodwell
Among the richest forms of regalia
This striking sculpture depicts
to be found in Bamum king’s
a pair of figures in a style that
treasuries are tobacco pipes. In
does not conform to a particular
their combinations of materials
African ethnic group. Instead, it
and motifs, artists endowed
reflects the hybridisation of styles
the pipe sculptures with a vast
that characterises the production
repertoire of historical, religious,
of much of African art in the
and cultural information. Although
latter 20th century. Paired figures
this pipe is missing its bowl, the
occur frequently in African art,
cast-brass stem is a tour-de-force
particularly among Dogon, Lobi,
of iconographic coding, including
and Baule peoples in west Africa.
a number of mask faces around
In central Africa, Luba peoples
the base surmounted by dozens
not only sculpt paired figures but
of frogs and probably lizards,
also figures placed back to back.
as well as geometric motifs such
It is thought that such iconography
as spirals and undulating wave
refers to the threshold between
patterns. The animal, human, and
the two worlds of the living and
non-figurative motifs are probably
the dead, and thus situates the
references to fertility and long life.
intersection between human and
spirit realms.
39.
40.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE:
SUPPORT THE AFRICAN COLLECTION ACQUISITION FUND
The Bermuda National Gallery African art collection was purchased in 1996
by members of the community: school children, families, corporations, and
government. This is a traditional collection, which celebrates the heritage and
creativity of West African cultures. In order for the Gallery to fulfill its mission of
community enrichment and engagement, it is necessary that the African Collection
continue to evolve. By contemporizing the African Collection the BNG will truly
represent Africa’s widespread artistic expression, both past and present.
Susan Vogel, founder of the African Art Museum in New York, underlines this
important vision: “Traditional African Art, its forms now familiar, has the status of
old masters work in the museum of human creation…. Contemporary African art
emerges as part of the critical nexus of art currents for the ideas it offers. What
better source for rethinking the transcultural aesthetic that is an inextricable part
of today’s world? Where better to reflect on relationships between the colonized
and colonizers (with all the metaphoric connotations those categories have) in
the postmodern era? In their melding of cultural codes from their own ancient
traditions and from the cacophonous present, contemporary African artists have
independently arrived at a transnational postmodern aesthetic that provides both
ideas and inspiration.”
Included here are exemplary contemporary African artworks and their current
market values; artworks that would add important depth and discourse to our
current African Collection, and add great value to our community.
Please join us in the acquisition process to realize the necessary evolution of
African Collection by making a donation to the BNGs African Collection Acquisition
Fund.
For more details, please contact Lisa Howie, Director: [email protected]; (441) 295-9428.
Afropick, 2005. Sanford Biggers
Woodcut on Japanese paper 67 x 11 1/4 inches
Estimate: $ 6,000 - 8,000
1. Vogel, Susan (1993). “The Museum for African Art: The Second Beginning”, in Secrecy: African Art
that Conceals and Reveals. Munich: The Museum for African Art, 12-13.
41.
42.
AFRICAN COLLECTION
Surviving the Children, 1996 . El Anatsui
Wood and metal
Dimensions variable
Estimate: $ 1,500 - 2,000
Antelope Dance, 1991. Stephane Graff
Toned gelatin silver print
6 7/8 x 6 5/8 inches
Estimate: $ 800 - 1,200
Ball Costume, 2008. Olu Amoda
Welded steel and keys
18 1/2 x 11 3/4 x 9 inches
43.
Estimate: $12,000-18,000
44
AFRICAN COLLECTION
The Nose, 2010. William Kentridge
Photogravure, drypaint, and sugar lift,
10 1/2 x 17 inches
Ed. 70
Estimate: $ 5,000
Dogon, 1996. Romauld Hazoume, Benin b. 1958
Mixed media, 18 x 15 x 17 inches
Estimate: $8,000
45.
46.

BERMUDA NATIONAL GALLERY

Transcription

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