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Source Description
Realized in a very distinctive style using the lost-wax method, this figure’s cultural origin and function is limited because it was removed from Nigeria during that country’s turbulent civil war of the late 1960s. Perhaps it was once part of an altar or shrine dedicated to a guardian or tutelary spirit. Connotations of prestige and wealth may explain why copper-alloy objects were diffused across vast territory and inherited over many generations.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
286213
label
Male figure
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
286213
contentType
sculpture
title
Male figure
description
Realized in a very distinctive style using the lost-wax method, this figure’s cultural origin and function is limited because it was removed from Nigeria during that country’s turbulent civil war of the late 1960s. Perhaps it was once part of an altar or shrine dedicated to a guardian or tutelary spirit. Connotations of prestige and wealth may explain why copper-alloy objects were diffused across vast territory and inherited over many generations.
date
probably 1800s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79876261
genreSpecific
Sculpture
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
height: 44.7 x 22.7 x 9.6 cm (17 5/8 x 8 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
cul
Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Benue River Valley, Unidentified maker
accession
2016.57
Source extras
tec
Copper alloy
tombstone
Male figure, probably 1800s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Benue River Valley, Unidentified maker. Copper alloy; height: 44.7 x 22.7 x 9.6 cm (17 5/8 x 8 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 2016.57
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
Figurative copper-alloy objects like this sculpture point to intense trade and the circulation of people, goods, and technologies in the Benue River Valley, resulting in a highly cosmopolitan society.
citations
citation
Brincard, Marie-Thérèse, and Evelyn Fischel. <em>The Art of Metal in Africa</em>: New York, N.Y.: African-American Institute, 1982.
page_number
cat. no. H5
citation
Phillips, Tom. <em>Africa: The Art of a Continent</em>. Munich: Prestel, 1995.
page_number
cat. no. 5.31
citation
Grunne, Bernard de. "A Missing Link?: Notes on an Early Proto-Jukun Seated Terracotta Figure". <em>Tribal: the Magazine of Tribal Art. </em>10 (2) no. 39 (Autumn-Winter 2005): 130-131.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 130, fig. 1
citation
Berns, Marla, Richard Fardon, Sidney Littlefield Kasfir, and Jörg Adelberger. <em>Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley</em>. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum at UCLA, 2011.
page_number
cat. no. 6.20
citation
Berns, Marla C, and Richard Fardon. “Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley.” <em>African Arts</em> 44, no. 3 (Autumn 2011): 16–37.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 19, fig. 6
citation
Petridis, Constantine. “Acquisition Highlights 2016: African Art.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 57, no. 2 (March/April 2017): 17.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 17; Mentioned: P. 7, 17
citation
Rondeau, James, Constantijn Petridis, Yaëlle Biro, Herbert M. Cole, Kassim Kone, Babatunde Lawal, Wilfried Van Damme, and Susan Mullin Vogel. <em>The language of beauty in African art.</em> 2022.
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:51:52.989000
sourceId
286213
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Copper alloy
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
891cc84190d9d572