Display figure / Artist Unknown, African, Osei Bonsu, Asante (Akan) Peoples, Ghana
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2001/2.33
- Title
- Display figure
- Artist Nationality
- Ghanaian
- Artist Life Dates
- 1900-1977
- Medium and Support
- wood
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1950
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Ghana (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Ghana (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
- Dimensions
- 28 cm x 10.2 cm x 10.6 cm (11 in. x 4 in. x 4 3/16 in.)
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- figure
- Physical Description
- A poised, naturalistic male figure sits on a stool, holding an egg in his right hand, his left hand resting on his left knee. The head is round, almost egg-shaped, with a high, sloping forehead rising from pronounced eyebrows. The eyes are almond-shped, the nost long and slender, the mouth a small straight line. The neck is long and ringed. Its surface is smooth, and carefully finished, golden brown in color, though worn or mottled in places.
- Subject Matter
- Seated on a royal stool--considered the soul of the Asante people--with an egg in his hand, this figure depicts a proverb that cautions the powerful to be firm but prudent in their rule: “To be a ruler is like holding an egg in the hand; if it is pressed too hard it breaks, but if not held tightly enough it may slip and smash on the ground.” A popular motif of the Asante court, it was often used to decorate the tops of linguist staffs, which were emblems of authority used by the ruler’s spokesmen during public ceremonies. However, this particular figure--carved by the acclaimed artist Osei Bonsu--is what Bonsu himself called a “parlor piece,” that is, a genre of work commissioned by local Asante and expatriate elites to decorate their homes.
- Secondary Keywords
- african
- african styles by region
- animal material
- animal material by form or function
- descriptors
- egg and egg components
- furnishings
- furnishings by form or function
- furniture
- furniture by form or function
- materials
- materials by origin
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by gender
- seating furniture
- single seating furniture
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- visual works
- visual works by subject type
- west african styles
- western guinea coast styles
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 872 x 1500
- File Size
- 147 KB
- Record
- 2001/2.33
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2001-sl-2.33/2001_2.33.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2001-SL-2.33:2001_2.33.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Display figure; Artist Unknown, African, Osei Bonsu, Asante (Akan) Peoples, Ghana." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2001-sl-2.33/2001_2.33.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 25, 2024.
