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AIC: African Art (Bot)

@aicafricanart.bsky.social

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Sharing artworks from the Art Institute of African Art department. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social

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AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 12h

Elephant Mask (Vi) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/37773/

This mask features the round ears, straight tusks, and short trunk of the African forest elephant. It was created for the sacred Gye masquerade and was performed for funerals, festivities commemorating the recently deceased, and other serious occasions.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James W. Alsdorf

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 14h

Mask (Ogbodo Enyi) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/123762/

Gift of Jamee J. and Marshall Field

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 17h

Cosmetic Saucer Decorated with Swans https://www.artic.edu/artworks/128011/

Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Norman W. Harris

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 20h

Face Mask https://www.artic.edu/artworks/87113/

Little is known about the meaning and use of these masks. Only 20 examples are extant and even their common attribution to the little-known Bwa (or Boa) people remains uncertain. Named pongdudu in early 20th-century written sources, such face masks were described as promising to confer invulnerability during battle, and instilling fear in the enemy. However, recent research has indicated that the relationship between these masks and warfare is fictitious.

Samuel A. Marx Restricted Fund

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 22h

Statuette of the Goddess Mut https://www.artic.edu/artworks/133693/

Gift of Mrs. Frank Hibbard

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 1d

Shea Butter Jar (Bwéeru or Wéké Gumgia) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/185704/

The snakes, crocodiles and lizards that embellish this jar have an improvisational quality that is akin to the immediacy of gesture drawing. The jar’s yellowish color suggests it was used to store shea butter, which seeps through the porous walls of a terracotta vessel over time, permanently discoloring it. With its multiple domestic uses, including as an ingredient in cooking and medicine and as lamp fuel, shea butter is an ideal symbol of plenty. Baatombu mothers commission jars like this to give to their daughters upon their marriage, filled with shea butter. The animals on this example probably represent the protective spirits of the owner’s family. [See also 2002.265, 2005.240, and 2005.271].

Gift of Keith Achepohl

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 1d

Female Figure https://www.artic.edu/artworks/207404/

Frederick W. Renshaw Acquisition Fund, partial gift of Dr. Gary Van Wyk and Lisa Brittan, African Art and Indian Art of the Americas Curator’s Discretionary Fund, and Mr. and Mrs. David B. Ross Endowment

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 1d

Amulet of the God Bes https://www.artic.edu/artworks/140697/

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 1d

Goldweight with a Geometric Design https://www.artic.edu/artworks/55214/

The relatively complex design of this gold weight consists of two comb-like elements on either end separated by a single diagonal raised line that covers a generous center section, producing separate matrices in which two circular elements are positioned. It is probable that the weight was originally square; however, the edges have been irregularly trimmed off to form a rough hexagon. Gold weights were used to measure gold dust, the local currency in the Akan-speaking regions of southern Ghana and the Ivory Coast between the 15th and the 20th centuries. The gold weights—made of a copper alloy—enabled merchants to carry out trade with towns of the West African Sahel, North Africa and later, with the Portuguese and the Dutch.
–Permanent Collection Object Description

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gottlieb

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 1d

Leaf-Shaped Stamp for Adinkra Textile https://www.artic.edu/artworks/193466/

Gift of Doran H. Ross

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 2d

Amulet of a Human Face https://www.artic.edu/artworks/136096/

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 2d

Eye of Horus (Wedjat) Finger Ring https://www.artic.edu/artworks/135126/

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 2d

Eye of Horus (Wedjat) Amulet https://www.artic.edu/artworks/140947/

Gift of Henry H. Getty, Robert H. Fleming, Norman W. Harris, and Charles L. Hutchinson

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 2d

Water Container https://www.artic.edu/artworks/186669/

Nupe potters use a convex-mold technique to form the base of round-bottomed vessels. In this method they hammer a flat disk of clay over the top of the mold, usually a fired pot, until achieving the desired shape. They then finish the piece with coils if so desired.On this pot, the rounding of the lower half slows to a gradual inward slope at midpoint and terminates in a rimless opening. The incised embellishment is relatively thick and deep and was applied with a comb. On the upper half of the vessel, two wide bands of pattern are separated by raised lines. The lower of these bands is filled in with zigzag lines, while the upper one has a series of arches that are further punctuated by raised dots of clay. A similarly embellished vessel is said to have come from the region of Muregi.

Gift of Keith Achepohl

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 2d

Mask for Egungun (Ere Egungun) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/51194/

This mask would have been worn during the annual or biannual Egungun festival, performances and celebrations to honor lineage ancestors. In addition to their deployment during the annual festivals, Egungun masks can also be brought out at funerals for important lineage members or in times of crisis, when the guidance of the ancestors is sought. This mask depicts a figure wearing a pith helmet, a potent symbol of colonialism in Nigeria, even when worn by a non-European. The helmet is surmounted by several birds—one on the crest and five smaller ones encircling the rim—that symbolize the supernatural powers of women, sometimes understood as witchcraft. The lines incised across the cheeks, forehead, and outer corner of the eyelids represent scarification or identification marks, linking the mask to a specific lineage—perhaps that of the mask’s owner. The series of holes around the edge of the mask, through which a thin cord is interlaced, would have allowed the mask to be connected to the fabric costume worn during the ceremonies.
An Egungun festival includes a great many masks, each with a unique form and style. While there are many identifiable types of Egungun masks and costumes, there is also a great deal of creativity exercised in their making. Such individuality is also expressed by the personalized name that each mask is given by its owner.
The Yoruba word egungun can be translated as “powers concealed” and refers to any masked performer or masquerade. In this sense, the word elucidates a critical function of Yoruba masquerade, which is to cloak and contain otherworldly forces and to help make possible the vital interaction between humans, ancestors, and gods. Egungun is also the proper name of a masking tradition staged to honor ancestors and the newly deceased, those “Dwellers in Heaven” or “Beings from Beyond” that continue to influence the lives of their kin from orun, the otherworld.
The Egungun masquerade originated within the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, perhaps as early as the 17th century, and spread to other corners of the Yoruba region over time. Today, many Yoruba communities have an Egungun society—made up of adult men and women who represent the community’s lineages—that plans the appearances of Egungun masqueraders at funerals, special family occasions, and yearly or biennial Egungun festivals. During these events costumed men move through the town embodying the presence of their ancestors while songs are sung in their praise and invocations are offered to them. Through rituals lasting several weeks, the masqueraders visit lineage compounds to bless or punish their descendants; even royalty must seek their favors in order to have a prosperous year. Though women and children participate by singing, dancing, and watching, they are kept at a safe distance from the masqueraders, whose actions are unpredictable.
Egungun masquerade costumes are commissioned and owned by men. The making of a costume involves close consultation with a tailor and sometimes a sculptor if a wooden mask or headdress is required. It also requires the assistance of a diviner, who can communicate with the spirit world; an herbalist, who makes packets of protective medicines that are attached to the costume; and the leader of the Egungun society, who performs rituals to sanctify the costume and selects the young man who will wear it while performing. Taking on the responsibility of owning a masquerade costume is demanding, but it also brings personal prestige and demonstrates a man’s commitment to his extended family, a commitment that is held in great esteem by the Yoruba.
–Permanent Collection Object Description

Tillie C. Cohn Endowment Fund

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 3d

Scaraboid: Face Motif on Top, Floral Designs on Base https://www.artic.edu/artworks/134423/

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 3d

Water Container https://www.artic.edu/artworks/185652/

On this container, dynamic slip-painted and low-relief embellishment are combined in a unique manner. The vessel’s round body sits on a low foot and is crowned by a slightly flared neck. An elongated lizard wraps around one side, chasing the tail of an undulating snake that likewise creeps up on the lizard’s tail. Each creature’s body was rendered in a flattened, schematized style and embellished with a diagonal texture applied with twisted-fiber roulette. The dull, cream color of the fired clay was left on the interior of the container in a band around the neck and shoulder, and in a large patch on one side. Red-orange slip, derived from iron oxide, covers the animal’s bodies and the bulk of the pot below them; it also rings the mouth and defines inverted Vs that sit in stacks of two and three around the shoulder.
The origin of this vessel is uncertain. Its basic shape—a plump body, short thick neck, and engaged foot—is typical of water storage containers produced by many potters among the Mande and related peoples across central and southern Mali and northern Burkina Faso, including the Somono and Bobo. While red slip painting is also common in these areas, raised and flattened imagery in not seen today. Red slip-painted vessels also are made by the Bobo, who live east of the Somono in Mali and Burkina Faso. Bobo potters use a direct pull method to form the base of a vessel, adding coils when necessary to increase the height.

Gift of Keith Achepohl

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 3d

Vase in the Shape of a Pomegranate https://www.artic.edu/artworks/43370/

Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 3d

Statuette of the God Harpocrates https://www.artic.edu/artworks/135685/

Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Norman W. Harris

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 3d

Male Figure https://www.artic.edu/artworks/249275/

Gift of Anita Glaze

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 4d

Scarab: Wish Formula https://www.artic.edu/artworks/134288/

Gift of Charles L. Hutchinson

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 4d

Male Figure (Singiti) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/39372/

This idealized portrait commemorated and honored the lifetime accomplishments of a deceased male ancestor. With its serene expression, fine beard, high forehead, and elaborate cross-shaped hairstyle, the figure embodies the composure, status, and wisdom of a respected elder. As a spiritual mediator between the living and the dead, it was preserved with other such objects in a shrine where it linked the present ruler with his predecessor and underscored the legitimacy of his authority.

Ada Turnbull Hertle Fund

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 4d

Statue of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris https://www.artic.edu/artworks/160171/

Gift of Phoenix Ancient Art, S.A.

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 4d

Headdress (Egungun or Gelede) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/229894/

This helmet imitates a hairstyle popular among Yoruba girls and young women, agogo, defined by tight braids along the sides of the head and a rising symmetrical crest at the center. Male and female priests occasionally wear the hairstyle, and it has also been incorporated into headdresses such as this one, for performances celebrating a specific orisa (deity), such as Sango, associated with thunderstorms and social justice, or during festivals centered around female elders, Gelede, or the ancestors, Egungun.

Gift of Donald Young and Shirley Weese Young

AIC: African Art (Bot) @aicafricanart.bsky.social · 4d

Chair (Chitwamo or Njunga) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/109324/

This miniature wooden chair would have been owned and used by a chief or dignitary. Designed for easy transportation, its form and construction derive from 17th-century Portuguese imports. Three-dimensional sculptures on the rungs and on the top of the seatback typically relate to Chokwe everyday life and mythology. The sculpted head that crowns this seatback represents a chihongo mask: a symbol of wealth, virility, and authority.

Winter and Hirsch Fund