Artwork Page for Male figure

Details / Information for Male figure

Male figure

probably 1800s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Benue River Valley, Unidentified maker

Medium
Copper alloy
Measurements
height: 44.7 x 22.7 x 9.6 cm (17 5/8 x 8 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
Weight: 5.24 kg
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2016.57
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

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.

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.

Male figure

probably 1800s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Benue River Valley, Unidentified maker

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