The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Male Figure

Male Figure

possibly 1300s–1600s
Terracotta
Overall: 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1985.199
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan

Did You Know?

While we don’t know who made this work, it can be hypothesized that it was a woman; today, as in much of Africa, potters in Mali are female.

Description

Figures like this would have been used in rituals by the ancestors of the present-day inhabitants of the Inland Niger Delta. Representing the gods and kings or queens associated with the region’s former residents, the figures received prayers and offerings in exchange for their support. The seated position of this male has been interpreted as a harmful pose intended to bring death to an individual.
  • ?–1985
    (Michael Oliver, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Reproduced: cat. 1, p. 32 - 33
  • CMA 1986: "Year in Review 1985," Bulletin 73 (February 1986), no. 170, p. 69, repr. p.64.
  • {{cite web|title=Male Figure|url=false|author=|year=possibly 1300s–1600s|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.199