Artwork Page for Model Canoe and Paddles

Details / Information for Model Canoe and Paddles

Model Canoe and Paddles

1900s

Africa, East Africa, probably Uganda, unknown maker

Medium
wood
Measurements
Overall: 12.8 cm (5 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House 1929.350
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

The small scale and a 1929 description of this object as "modern" suggest it was made for tourists.

Description

Made of plain wood, this is a model of a canoe with a prow, seats, and five paddles. Composed of multiple panels sewn together with fibers, it was described in historical museum documents as a "war canoe." Similar examples from around the same period are found in American and European museums, where they had been collected in eastern, central, and western Africa as anthropological artifacts rather than as artworks. While the archives have little information about this object, it appears similar to Ugandan sewn plank canoes and to a model example collected in Uganda between 1890 and 1910 now at the British Museum.

Model Canoe and Paddles

1900s

Africa, East Africa, probably Uganda, unknown maker

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.