COLLECTION
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Baga
Baninko region, Mali
Pair of Headdresses (Ci Wara Kunw), Mid-19th/early 20th century
Bamana
Bamileke
Batufam, Cameroon
Seated Figure of Metang, the 10th King (Fon) of Batufam, 1912/14
Bougouni region, Mali
Horse and Rider and Four Figures, probably late 14th/early 15th century
Côte d’Ivoire
Portrait Mask of a Woman (Ndoma), Late 19th/mid-20th century
BoaDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Mask, Late 19th/early 20th century
Chokwe
Standing Male Figure, 18th century
Wood and sacrificial material
98.5 x 15.5 x 13.9 cm (39 1/4 x 6 1/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Janie Brill Memorial Fund; Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment, 1996.41
Miracles of Mary (Te’amire Maryam), late 17th century, reign of Yohannes (1667–82) or Iyyasu I (1682–1706)
Parchment, ink, tempera, wood, leather, cotton, and string
36.8 x 31.8 x 9.5 cm (14 1/2 x 12 1/2 x 3 3/4 in.)
Ada Turnbull Hertle and Marian and Samuel Klasstorner endowments, 2002.4
The Story of the Clubfooted Man is one of 72 hand-painted illustrations from a lavish 158-page bound manuscript devoted to the miracles of Mary. It was created in the late 17th century in Gonder, the newly established capital of Christian Ethiopia’s Solomonic kings. The manuscript is part of a closely related group of manuscripts that were created during a period of great artistic innovation in Christian Ethiopia, when manuscript illuminators were exploring new approaches to their art including the introduction of narrative illustrations. It is likely that this book was commissioned by a wealthy individual as a high-status guide for family devotion.
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Triptych Icon with Central Image of the Virgin and Child, Late 17th century, reign of Iyyasu I (1682–1706)
Tempera on linen, mounted on wood and bound with cord
67 x 74 cm (26 3/8 x 29 1/8 in.)
Director’s Fund, 2006.11
African and Amerindian Art
Gallery 137
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Reliquary Head, mid-/late 19th century
Wood and copper
h. 39.4 cm (15 1/2 in.)
Frederick W. Renshaw Acquisition Fund; Robert Allerton and Ada Turnbull Hertle endowments; Robert Allerton Income Fund; Gladys N. Anderson Endowment, 2006.127
Ancestral Altar Screen (Duein Fubara), Mid-19th/early 20th century
Wood, pigment, fiber, and fabric (contemporary facsimile based on period examples)
101.6 x 69.9 x 20.3 cm (40 x 27 1/2 x 8 in.)
Joanne M. and Clarence E. Spanjer Fund; restricted gift of Cynthia and Terry E. Perucca, Marshall Field V, and Lynn and Allen Turner funds; Mr. and Mrs. David B. Ross Endowment; Alsdorf Foundation, 2005.154
Kuba
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Drinking Horn, Mid-/late 19th century
Wood, copper alloy, and iron
39.4 x 44.5 x 11.4 cm (15 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mr. G. F. Harding, 1928.173
Western Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mask (Bwoom), Late 19th/mid-20th century
Wood, metal, glass beads, fabric, pigment, seeds, thread, and leather
63.5 x 49.9 x 67.3 cm (25 x 18 1/2 x 26 1/2 in.)
Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson, 1982.1506
Mukenga masks like this one are worn at funerals of influential, titled men in the northern part of the Kuba kingdom. The mask’s form and materials combine symbols associated with status and leadership. Its surface is comprised of raffia cloth upon which glass beads, cowrie shells, raffia fibers, and animal fur are attached. The carefully arranged cowrie shells, once prized as currency, signal wealth and status. The beard-like ruff of the large and dangerous colobus monkey refers to powers of the forest. A prominent trunk projecting upward and over the front of the mask represents the elephant, the supreme symbol of leadership.
Kuba
Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mask (Ngady Amwaash), Late 19th/mid-20th century
Wood, pigment, glass beads, cowrie shells, fabric, and thread
31.8 x 20.6 x 20.5 cm (12 1/2 x 8 1/8 x 10 in.)
Restricted gift of the American Hospital Supply Corp., the Evanston Associates of the Woman’s Board in honor of Wilbur Tuggle, Deborah Stokes and Jeffrey Hammer, William E. Hartmann, Charles A. Meyer, D. Daniel Michel, and Claire B. Zeisler; African and Amerindian Art Purchase Fund, 1982.1505
Plaque of a War Chief, 16th/17th century
Brass
33.9 x 28.8 x 4.7 cm (13 3/8 x 11 3/8 x 1 7/8 in.)
Samuel P. Avery Fund, 1933.782
Storage Container, Early/mid-20th century
Terracotta and slip
87.6 x 35.6 cm (34 1/2 x 14 in.)
Gift of Keith Achepohl, 2005.228
Ceremonial Drum (Pinge), 1930/50
Wood, hide, and applied color
122.9 x 49.2 cm (48 3/8 x 19 3/8 in.)
Robert J. Hall, Herbert R. Molner Discretionary, Curator’s Discretionary, and African and Amerindian Art Purchase funds; Arnold Crane, Mrs. Leonard Florsheim, O. Renard Goltra, Holly and David Ross, Departmental Acquisitions, Ada Turnbull Hertle, and Marion and Samuel Klasstorner endowments; through prior gifts of various donors, 1990.137
This sculpture depicting a woman gracefully balancing a drum on her head also functions as a drum. Played by women, drums like this provide rhythmic percussion and confirm the contributions of women to Senufo society through their thought-provoking sculptural forms. The female figure balances the load on her head with powerful, upraised arms, a rigidly arched back, and a strong neck. Scarification marks, bracelets, and carefully coiffed hair further identify her as a woman of status. The image of the female figure carries profound importance for the matrilineal Senufo of Ivory Coast and Burkino Faso. Women are the founders of families, and they play significant roles in influential initiation associations such as Sandogo and Tyekpa.
Mask (Kponyungo), Mid-19th/mid-20th century
Wood and applied color
27.9 x 27.3 x 102.9 cm (11 x 10 3/4 x 40 1/2 in.)
African and Amerindian Art Purchase Fund, 1963.842
Chair (Kiti Cha Enzi), 19th century
Wood, ivory, and cotton fiber
125.7 x 75.6 x 72.4 cm (49 1/2 x 29 3/4 x 28 1/2 in.)
Restricted gift of Marshall Field V, 2004.476
Bottle, Early/mid-20th century
Terracotta
29.9 x 21.6 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/2 in.)
Gift of Keith Achepohl, 2005.253
Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), Early/mid-19th century
Wood, metal, glass, fabric, fiber, cowrie shell, bone, leather, gourds, and feather
H. 72 cm (28 1/3 in.)
Ada Turnbull Hertle Endowment, 1998.502
This visually powerful sculpture once belonged to a ritual specialist who used it as a tool to control and contain a spiritual force. In the Kongo language, spiritually invested objects are called minkisi (singular, nkisi). This nkisi is also called nkondi, or hunter, referring to its power to aggressively track down offenders. The iron chain, cowrie shells, bone, and small calabashes strung around the figure enhance its ability to attract a spirit and may be connected to a specific problem that its power was called on to resolve.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Neckrest Depicting a Building on Stilts, Mid-19th/early 20th century
Yoruba
Ede, Oyo region, Nigeria
Female Figure with Offering Bowl, Late 19th century
Yoruba
Ota, Awori region, Nigeria
Headdress for Gelede (Igi), Early/mid-20th century
Yoruba
Itoko quarter, Abeokuta, Nigeria
Headdress for Hunter’s Egungun (Ere Egungun Ode), Mid-/late 19th century
Yoruba
Ikere, Ekiti region, Nigeria
From the palace of the king of Ikere
Veranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife (Opo Ogoga), 1910/14
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