The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Dark brown wood sculpture of a figure with a loincloth between their legs and lines like a necklace around their shoulders. Their arms are bent at ninety degree angles, the right holding a drinking horn facing up, the left a pole hanging down. The figure's chin juts out with an open mouth revealing pointed teeth. A cap rests on their head with a smooth strip at the front and pine-cone-like texture on either side.

Commemorative figure (lefem)

mid-1800s–1910
carver

probably carved by Ateu Atsa

(Bangwa, c. 1840–1910)
Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Bangwa Kingdom
wood
Overall: 92.1 x 20.3 cm (36 1/4 x 8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1987.62
Location: 108A African

Did You Know?

Ateu Atsa was both a famous and infamous artist! It is said that he enraged a ruler by portraying him realistically rather than in an idealized way, and was chased out of town after the sculpture was revealed.

Description

Adorned with royal attire consisting of a cap, beaded necklace, folded loincloth, and drinking horn, this figure was carved as a commemorative portrait of a historical king or high dignitary. It was kept by a secret association called Lefem, whose members gathered weekly in a sacred space in the forest to discuss matters related to the welfare of the kingdom. Standing in a royal shrine, the figure witnessed sacrifices made to the skulls of the chief’s ancestors. Meant to safeguard the kingdom and protect the fecundity of its inhabitants, it was also exhibited during funerals and royal ceremonies.
  • probably Ateu Atsa, Cameroon
    Charles Ratton, Paris, France
    Pace Primitive and Ancient Art, New York, NY
    Cleveland Museum of Art by purchase 1987
  • Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Reproduced: cat. 30, p. 90 - 91
    Lintig, Bettina von. 2014. “A Grasslands Beaded Leopard Skin.” Tribal Art: Quarterly Journal of the Art Culture and History of Traditional Peoples and New World Civilizations 18 (3) No. 72 Summer 2014 Pp 108-117.
    New Orleans Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Field Museum of Natural History, American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). 1984. The Art of Cameroon. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, cat. no. 7, pp. 86-87.
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Henry John Drewal. 1989. African Art : A Brief Guide to the Collection : The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Museum, fig. 18.
    CMA Handbook, 1991b, p. 143.
    LaGamma, Alisa, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), and Museum Rietberg. 2011. Heroic Africans : Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures. New York, New Haven Conn: Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Distributed by Yale University Press, fig. 18, p. 130.
    Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (February 1988): 30–71. Reproduced: p. 60; Mentioned: p. 70, no. 180 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 33
    Lintig, Bettina von. "From Fontem to Berlin: The Long Journey of a Bangwa Lefem Staff." Tribal Art 19, no. 3 (Summer 2015): 130-135. Reproduced: p. 130, fig. 1
  • African Master Carvers: Known and Famous. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 16, 2017).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (3/26/2017-7/16/2017); “African Master Carvers: Known and Famous”.
    Gallery One 2012. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).
    The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (October 4, 2011 - 1/29/2012): "Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures", figure 118, p. 130.
    Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 21, 2011-January 29, 2012).
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
    CMA 1988: "Year in Review 1987," Bulletin 75 (February 1988), p. 70, no. 180, repr. p. 60.
    African Art: Recent Acquisitions. Pace Primitive and Ancient Art. New York, NY (October 24–December 6, 1986).
  • {{cite web|title=Commemorative figure (lefem)|url=false|author=Ateu Atsa|year=mid-1800s–1910|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.62