The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 26, 2025

Male Figure

c. 1930s

Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Baule- or Anyi-style, unknown artist

Wood and colorant
Overall: 49.2 cm (19 3/8 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1975.156
Location: Not on view

Description

Traces of white pigment and sacrificial residue suggest that this figure was used by a komyen, a Baule priest and spirit medium. The carved figure attracted nature spirits who then periodically possessed the priest, giving him a special clairvoyance. Other works by this same unknown master sculptor show his interest in repeated textural bands, like those on the high collar, tunic, and cap.
  • Fagg, William, and Cleveland Museum of Art. 1968. African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 92.
  • CMA 1976: "Year in Review 1975," CMA Bulletin LXIII (Feb., 1976), p. 65, no. 25
    CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 92, repr.
  • {{cite web|title=Male Figure|url=false|author=|year=c. 1930s|access-date=26 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.156