Male figure, fragment of a slit gong
Object Details
- Label Text
- Male and female figures, fragments of slit gongs created during the 19th and early 20th centuries by artists of the Mbembe, are among the most powerful and enigmatic wood carvings from the Middle Cross River region in southeastern Nigeria. Large in scale and weathered, with surfaces resembling rugged landscapes, these sculptures seem to possess a primordial quality.
- Sculptures such as this originally were finials on one or both ends of monumental slit gongs that ranged in size from 10 to 16 feet (2.5 to 4 meters). Carved from the same log as the slit gong, the sculptures have a horizontal wood grain, a rare occurrence in African sculpture depicting the human form. Usually the grain runs parallel to the axis of the body. This different configuration challenged the artist to anticipate and carefully integrate the radiating patterns of the core of the trunk into a sculpture's design and surface modeling.
- Although slit gongs with figurative finials had a wide distribution, ranging from Igbo country to the Cameroon Grassfields, Mbembe slit gongs possessed a unique design. The figurative finials either faced outward, connected by their backs to the ends of the slit gong, or they were almost entirely separated from the body of the gong and freestanding, in some instances facing inward toward the body of the gong. While standing or seated male figures holding a severed head in one hand alluded to warfare, the female figures suggested prosperity, fecundity and the important role women assume in Cross River societies. In some instances, gongs had a male figure on one end and a female on the other, an image that depicts the important and complimentary roles of men and women in Mbembe society.
- Slit gongs belonged to the village or to particular men's associations. They were placed out in the open, which explains their weathered surfaces, where their purpose was to call the community together in case of emergencies such as military attacks, conflagration, deaths or other important events.
- Only a few complete slit gongs left southeastern Nigeria at the beginning of the 20th century. Two are now in the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin. One of these gongs, a well-preserved piece, is painted. This may have been a common practice and would serve to explain the traces of pigment on the museum's sculpture. During the Biafran War (1967-70), a period of destruction and upheaval in southeastern Nigeria, many figurative finials were removed from slit gongs and exported to Europe and the United States. Nevertheless, several complete gongs remain in the region and are now protected by Nigerian antiquities laws.
- Description
- Seated male figure, knees bent, wearing a top hat and grasping a rifle; feet are absent. Traces of black pigment are visible on the hat. The proper right eye is inlaid with lead, which is missing from the proper left eye that shows an iron repair. The figure’s oval eyes, broad nose and pursed lips are carefully carved. Raised linear motifs ornament the temples. The ears project slightly from the facial plane. A slightly raised rectilinear form on the back indicates where the figure originally joined the slit gong.The surface is highly weathered and eroded, particularly along the lower right side of the figure.
- Provenance
- Merton D. Simpson, New York, by 1973 to February 2, 2013
- Karl-Ferdinand Schaedler, Munich, February 2, 2013-to summer of 2015
- Heinrich Schweizer, New York, summer of 2015 to 2016
- Exhibition History
- Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 4, 2017-ongoing
- Warriors and Mothers: Epic Mbembe Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, December 9, 2014-September 16, 2015
- Published References
- Cotter, Holland. 2014. “Killing and Nurturing, All Surprising: ‘Warriors and Mothers: Epic Mbembe Art’ at the Metropolitan Museum”, The New York Times, December 18, 2014, p. XXXX ; also online at NYTimes.com, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/arts/design/warriors-and-mothersepic-mbembe-art-at-the-metropolitan-museum.html?_r=1#, slide 5.
- Guiducci, Mark. 2015. “Hélène Leloup on Mbembe Sculpture, the Rare African Art Now at the Met”, Vogue, February 10, 2015, p. XXXX . Also online at Vogue.com, http://www.vogue.com/10445961/heleneleloup-mbembe-sculpture-metropolitan/, slide 1.
- LaGamma, Alisa. 2013. “Silenced Mbembe Muses,” Metropolitan Museum Journal 48 (2013): 143-160, figure 11a, 11b.
- --------------------. 2014. “Warriors and Mothers: Epic Mbembe Art,” Tribal Art Magazine, Number 74, Winter 2014: 92-101, figure 19.
- Meier, Allison. 2015. “Landmark African Art Exhibit is Reassembled, but Mystery of Its Origins Remains,” Hyperallergenic, March 26, 2015: 1-5; installation photograph, in background, page 4, top. Also available online: http://hyperallegenic.com/187135/landmark-1974-african-art-exhibit-reassembles-but-the-mystery-remains/.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Gift of Heinrich Schweizer in memory of Merton D. Simpson
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Date
- 19th-early 20th century
- Object number
- 2016-12-1
- Maker
- Mbembe artist
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Figure
- Medium
- Wood, pigment, lead, iron
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 77.8 × 37.9 × 73.7 cm (30 5/8 × 14 15/16 × 29 in.)
- Geography
- Ewayon River region, Cross River Province, Nigeria
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- Exhibition
- Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts
- On View
- NMAfA, Second Level Gallery (2193)
- Topic
- weapon
- Male use
- male
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_2016-12-1
