Cylindrical, wood carved cup with geometric motifs and linear, interlocking surface designs that cover the entire surface of the object.
Subject Matter
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, palm wine cups carved elaborately from wood were high prestige objects, and were commissioned or purchased by individuals who could readily afford them. Such cups were public displays of personal success and accomplishment. This cylindrical cup features the Kuba aesthetic preference for geometric motifs and linear, interlocking surface designs that cover the entire surface of the object.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
An impressive array of visual arts conveyed rank and title in the Kuba Kingdom. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, palm wine cups fashioned from the horns of the bush buffalo were the prerogative of Kuba warriors. This example reveals the elegant surface decoration for which Kuba artists are renowned. Its concentric circles, geometric shapes, and beadlike bands carved in relief follow the natural contours of the horn and resemble women’s scarification patterns. This horn shows an excellent local repair—a metal suture sewn at the mouth to stabilize a crack. The linear, interlocking design that covers the surface of the cylindrical wooden cup is derived from Kuba textile patterns.
The flourishing of the Kuba economy and its decorative arts came to an abrupt end in the late nineteenth century with the imposition of colonial rule, taxation, and forced labor in the rubber trade. Western collectors enthusiastically swept up remarkable pieces such as these. By the mid-twentieth century, missionary efforts to revive Kuba woodcarving and weaving led to the creation of workshops that produced objects for tourists and for export. Today, the Kuba produce textiles for themselves as well as for sale, while decorative woodcarvings are produced solely for the export market.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Cylindrical, wood carved cup with geometric motifs and linear, interlocking surface designs that cover the entire surface of the object.
Subject Matter
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, palm wine cups carved elaborately from wood were high prestige objects, and were commissioned or purchased by individuals who could readily afford them. Such cups were public displays of personal success and accomplishment. This cylindrical cup features the Kuba aesthetic preference for geometric motifs and linear, interlocking surface designs that cover the entire surface of the object.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
An impressive array of visual arts conveyed rank and title in the Kuba Kingdom. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, palm wine cups fashioned from the horns of the bush buffalo were the prerogative of Kuba warriors. This example reveals the elegant surface decoration for which Kuba artists are renowned. Its concentric circles, geometric shapes, and beadlike bands carved in relief follow the natural contours of the horn and resemble women’s scarification patterns. This horn shows an excellent local repair—a metal suture sewn at the mouth to stabilize a crack. The linear, interlocking design that covers the surface of the cylindrical wooden cup is derived from Kuba textile patterns.
The flourishing of the Kuba economy and its decorative arts came to an abrupt end in the late nineteenth century with the imposition of colonial rule, taxation, and forced labor in the rubber trade. Western collectors enthusiastically swept up remarkable pieces such as these. By the mid-twentieth century, missionary efforts to revive Kuba woodcarving and weaving led to the creation of workshops that produced objects for tourists and for export. Today, the Kuba produce textiles for themselves as well as for sale, while decorative woodcarvings are produced solely for the export market.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Miter-shaped hat with double layer of fabric made from whorls of light-colored cotton applique on dark green velveteen ground. Sides of hat terminate in red tassels. Front edge of hat is trimmed with red fabric.
Subject Matter
In the Grassfields region of western Cameroon, his type of hat was reserved for chiefs and elders to denote their authority. Its style of appliqué is influenced by Hausa aesthetic ideas.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
In west Africa, long distance trade and the historic expansion of empires have helped to spread artistic ideas and designs across the region, so that a single object—such as a hat—may well bear influences from several different cultures. Peaked (or miter-style) hats are found in many parts of west Africa. This hat’s color and embroidery suggest it may have been inspired by a type known in the Mande language as bambada, or crocodile’s mouth, named for the lateral tapers that resemble the open jaws of a crocodile. Its red color symbolizes blood and power, though the meaning of the delicately embroidered figures—one humanlike, possibly in costume, the other a long-tailed creature—remains unknown. The character and fine stitch work of these figures resemble that of Manding embroiderers, who were often commissioned to decorate the gowns and tunics of peoples throughout the region. Alternatively, this hat also resembles a style worn by men in western Cameroon, which was strongly influenced by Hausa fashions brought by traders from northern Nigeria in the late nineteenth century. Such movement and mixing of aesthetic ideas over time and space leave us speculating as to the absolute origins and meaning of this intriguing hat.
The elliptical whorls of appliqué found on the second hat place it in western Cameroon, where fashion dictates that no man of status and propriety moves in public without covering his head. This type of hat was reserved for chiefs and elders to denote their authority. Its style of appliqué is influenced by Hausa aesthetic ideas.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Mask is made entirely of blackish-brown dyed and molded raffia fiber; face has bulging forehead, deeo set narrow eyes, bulbous nose, and raffia “beard.” Top of head has cone-like crest of small fiber knots.
Subject Matter
In pre-colonial Sala Mpasu society authority was vested in members of the Matambu warriors’ society who could secure the rights to wear an array of important masks. The most prestigious of these were the idangani, made entirely of woven fiber. These masks represented a husband and wife pair. This mask is female, identified by small fiber knobs that recall a popular woman’s hairstyle.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
These formidable masks played a vital role in the Sala Mpasu’s warrior society, a powerful association through which men increased their authority by securing the right to wear particular masks. The most prestigious of these were the idangani masks, which represented a married couple and were constructed entirely from fiber. The female mask is identified by the small fiber knobs that recall a popular woman’s hairstyle. The kasangu mask was made of wood and represented a warrior. Its open, rectangular mouth exposes pointed teeth—a Sala Mpasu mark of beauty.
As new forms of authority and wealth were imposed by the Belgian colonial state, the Sala Mpasu disbanded their warrior society and destroyed many of the masks associated with it. However, the resilience of Sala Mpasu artists remains evident in the new forms of masks they continue to create for entertainment, boys’ initiation ceremonies, and the external art market.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Buffalo horn with concentric circles, geometric shapes and beadlike bands carved in relief follow the natural contours of the horn to its pointed tip. Has a local repair—a metal suture sewn at the mouth to stabilize a crack. Has cord pierced through tip.
Subject Matter
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, palm wine drinking cups fashioned from the horns of the bush buffalo were used exclusively by Kuba warriors and soldiers as emblems of their ferocity and connection to the wilderness. The cord pierced through the tip of the horn allowed it to be worn by its owner as part of his regalia.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
An impressive array of visual arts conveyed rank and title in the Kuba Kingdom. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, palm wine cups fashioned from the horns of the bush buffalo were the prerogative of Kuba warriors. This example reveals the elegant surface decoration for which Kuba artists are renowned. Its concentric circles, geometric shapes, and beadlike bands carved in relief follow the natural contours of the horn and resemble women’s scarification patterns. This horn shows an excellent local repair—a metal suture sewn at the mouth to stabilize a crack. The linear, interlocking design that covers the surface of the cylindrical wooden cup is derived from Kuba textile patterns.
The flourishing of the Kuba economy and its decorative arts came to an abrupt end in the late nineteenth century with the imposition of colonial rule, taxation, and forced labor in the rubber trade. Western collectors enthusiastically swept up remarkable pieces such as these. By the mid-twentieth century, missionary efforts to revive Kuba woodcarving and weaving led to the creation of workshops that produced objects for tourists and for export. Today, the Kuba produce textiles for themselves as well as for sale, while decorative woodcarvings are produced solely for the export market.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Concave, ovoid maskette with kaolin covering surface of surface of face. Minimal rendering of facial features: raised, tapered wood strip for nose; narrow, oviod, horizontal eyes; open, ovoid mouth with some striation around interior edge.
Subject Matter
This maskette was used in initiation ceremonies associated with bwami, a ranked initiation society open to all Lega men and women. Bwami was the core of Lega identity. Its moral and philosophical precepts permeated all aspects of social and political life. Maskettes were emblems of an individual's rank in the bwami society. They were also used to aid in the instruction of bwami ideas and values. The meaning of individual maskettes were context specific and could change over time.
Label Copy
(African Art and the Shape of Time; August 18, 2012-February 3, 2013)
11. Mask (probably idimu)
Lega peoples, probably first half of 20th century, wood, kaolin,
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of the Friends of the Museum of Art in memory of Diana B. Fox, 1985/1.151
An object that looks like a mask may function in contexts other than masquerade. In the Lega men’s initiation society called bwami masks are used to transfer political and religious knowledge from generation to generation. The term idimu may be loosely translated as “ancestor.” But this mask does not represent a specific ancestor; it signifies instead both a senior bwami initiate who is regarded as a living ancestor, as well as the esoteric knowledge that he wields and that is ascribed to the mask.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Axe with cylindrical shaft topped by flattened "head"; short widely flaring blade of forged iron or steel with incised patterns; face with fine diamond patterning; head topped with hatched coiffure or hat with falling "tail"; wood handle with brown glossy patina. [David Ackley]
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Wood-carved flywhisk is shape of a woman. Her torso doubles as the whisk handle and is scarified with leaden inlay, which has been worn smooth due to extended use. A red cotton wrap marks the transition zone between the female’s torso and the buffalo hair whisk below. The whisk visually acts as a grass skirt completing the above figure’s body and dress.
Subject Matter
Whisks are the prerogative of rulers, divination experts or judges. This one seems to be of special importance given its intricate surface design. The figure raises her arm to her head making a gesture that indicates that she is also in the process of whisking up and down.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
This elegant flywhisk signals the power of its possessor, who could have been a religious, legal, or political leader—or, a leader who was all of these. When addressing the public, chiefs dipped the whisk tips in protective medicines to bless the audience. Throughout Africa, flywhisks, like umbrellas and fans, are used by people of high status not only to create a cooling breeze, but also to signal the deflection of potentially destructive forces that can beset powerful people.
The scarification patterns on the chest and torso, inlaid with lead now rubbed smooth from use, contribute to its remarkable sense of artistry.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Square panel of raffia, cut-pile cloth; top is even, plush surface; intersecting linear pattern creates geometic diamond motifs in contrasting dark and light browns. Back is woven raffia cloth.
Subject Matter
The Kuba are renowned for their elaborate, geometrical surface design. One of the most impressive expressions of this aesthetic tradition is cloth made from raffia fiber. In the 19th century, decorated raffia cloth was a marker of prestige, used as currency, to pay tribute, settle legal disputes, and in public displays such as the funerals of high-ranking titleholders—a practice that continues today. Produced also for the international market, Kuba cloth—and imitations of its designs—can be found in shops and private collections all over the world.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
Kuba artists apply their bold and sophisticated surface design to ceremonial and everyday objects alike. One of the most impressive expressions of this aesthetic tradition is cloth made from raffia fiber, a hardy and ubiquitous material that in Kuba thought symbolizes abundance and wealth. Decorated raffia cloth was used as currency and for public display at events such as the funerals of high-ranking titleholders—a practice that continues today. Men weave the base cloth, and women design, dye, and embroider it. Cloth designs are named, often after the women who created them, but in this case the name of the design is not known. Produced also for the international market, Kuba cloth—and imitations of its designs—can be found in shops and private collections around the world.
This cut-pile raffia cloth is typical of those made by the Shoowa, a Kuba subgroup. In cloth made for their own use, the Shoowa used an overall balanced pattern, a deep plush, and even lines. In cloth like this one, produced for the external market, artists juxtaposed different patterns and varied the fill-in designs.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Face mask made of wood, covered in white kaolin; face has round, bulging forehead, deep set narrow eyes, small round ears, fiber beard, open rectangular mouth and pointed teeth; basketry weave that held mask on the dancer’s head is visible at back and sides; raffia attachment on top of head frayed and missing.
Subject Matter
In pre-colonial Sala Mpasu society authority was vested in members of the Matambu warriors’ society who could secure the rights to wear an array of important masks. The kasangu mask was made of wood and represented a warrior. Covered in kaolin, a fine white clay, it is distinguished by its open rectangular mouth and pointed teeth—a Sala Mpasu mark of beauty.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
These formidable masks played a vital role in the Sala Mpasu’s warrior society, a powerful association through which men increased their authority by securing the right to wear particular masks. The most prestigious of these were the idangani masks, which represented a married couple and were constructed entirely from fiber. The female mask is identified by the small fiber knobs that recall a popular woman’s hairstyle. The kasangu mask was made of wood and represented a warrior. Its open, rectangular mouth exposes pointed teeth—a Sala Mpasu mark of beauty.
As new forms of authority and wealth were imposed by the Belgian colonial state, the Sala Mpasu disbanded their warrior society and destroyed many of the masks associated with it. However, the resilience of Sala Mpasu artists remains evident in the new forms of masks they continue to create for entertainment, boys’ initiation ceremonies, and the external art market.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Face mask embroidered extensively wtih glass beads. Two long panels hang down the front and back of the wearer. Humanoid face at top has two round eye holes allowing the wearer to see, a strip of fabric for nose and open, upturned mouth. Ears are protruding disks attached on either side of the face . Top of the head is covered with small, corklike knobs covered with black cloth. The beadwork is predominantly green, with intricate, scallop-shaped patterns along edge of panels, and vertical, star-like patterns filling center of the panels. Interior of panels is lined with damask.
Subject Matter
Stylized images of the elephant abound in the pageantry that surrounded Bamileke kings and men of distinction. The elephant masquerade was danced by members of powerful men’s regulatory societies that oversaw the ritual and judicial affairs of the kingdom. Performed at royal festivals and funerals, these masks honored the authority of leadership and the transcendental forces of the forest.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
Stylized images of the elephant abound in the pageantry surrounding Bamileke kings and other high-ranking men. Among the most dramatic was the elephant masquerade, which featured masks lavishly embroidered with imported glass beads. Loping like elephants to the accompaniment of drums and gongs, dancers paraded around the palace marketplace, carrying flywhisks and wearing their distinctive regalia.
This mask, with its untraditional green color scheme and imported damask lining, was probably made for the market. However, in African eyes, innovative, market-driven production need not compromise an object’s value or authenticity. Indeed, this mask could have been sold to Bamileke buyers for use in performance.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Flat raffia mat with woven geometric, diamond-lke pattern of interlocking lines in green, natural and purple.
Subject Matter
The Kuba are renowned for their elaborate, geomtrical surface designs. One of the most impressive expressions of this aesthetic is cloth made from raffia fiber. In the 19th century, decorated raffia cloth was a marker of prestige, used as currency, to pay tribute, settle legal disputes, and in public displays such as the funerals of high-ranking titleholders—a practice that continues today. Produced also for the international market, Kuba cloth—and imitations of its designs—can be found in shops and private collections all over the world. This type of mat was used for sitting, sleeping or as a burial cloth. It was also used as a form of moveable architecture to define spaces for special events such as royal visits. The purple ink was probably derived using ink from discarded ditto machines.
Label Copy
Throughout central Africa, there is a resonance between a cultures's two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphic and sculptural arts. For Kuba, Kongo, Luba, and other societies with pre-colonial kingdoms, for example, the same patterns that appear on the body as scarifications are often woven into mats, used on the walls and floors, and carved into wooden house panels and supports. The outsides of both house and body are thresholds to the secrets held within, and encode esoteric knowledge pertaining to royal history and culture. Some patterns are "signature" motifs referring to a particular king, while others bear names referring to proverbs or social relationships.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Pipe made in three parts: wood-carved stem, inner metal pipe for drawing smoke, and metal, possibly bronze bowl. Wood-carved, openwork stem is comprised of interlocking lizards; spiral whorls cover the cast metal bowl. bands of cowrie shells encircle the bottom and “neck” of the bowl, while its lip is topped with the classic Grassfields motif of a prestige cap.
Subject Matter
Throughout the Grassfields region of western Cameroon, men and women smoked pipes at social gatherings, to rest while working in the fields, and in sessions of the royal court. The kind of pipe that one smoked--its design, iconography, and the materials from which it was made--reflected one’s status in society and an ability to appreciate beautiful things. Pipes drew from a rich repertoire of sculptural forms and symbols that characterized the visual arts of the region. “Prestige pipes” completed the attire of chiefs and noblemen, as their elaborate forms and iconographic motifs spoke of royalty and wealth.
Label Copy
March 28, 2009
Throughout the Grassfields region of Cameroon, pipes were used for smoking tobacco and were enjoyed by men and women alike. Made from clay, wood, bone, or metal, pipes could be plain or lavishly embellished. Pipes such as this one completed the attire of chiefs and noblemen, and their elaborate forms and iconographic motifs communicated royalty and wealth; here, the carved openwork stem is comprised of interlocking lizards, a symbol of prestige. The spiral whorls on the cast metal bowl may represent the coiled serpent, which has varied associations with kingship. Cowrie shells, once a medium of exchange and sign of wealth, encircle the bottom and neck of the bowl. The lip is crowned with a motif of the prestige cap, once worn by men of distinction throughout the region.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
