Heroic Africans Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures

exhibition preview Heroic Africans Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures

Alisa LaGamma

“Heroic AfricAns: LegendAry LeAders, iconic examines the visual translation of specific subjects into sculptural scuLptures” wAs orgAnized by tHe MetropoLitAn forms from eight culturally distinct centers across western and MuseuM of Art, wHere it wAs presented froM sep- central Africa: the kingdoms of Ife and Benin, both in Nigeria; teMber 20, 2011 tHrougH JAnuAry 29, 2012. After its Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire’s Akan chiefdoms; the Bangwa and Kom new york sHowing it Moves to its second venue, chiefdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields; Angola and the Demo- tHe MuseuM rietberg in zuricH, froM februAry 26 cratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Chokwe chiefdoms; and the tHrougH June 3, 2012. DRC’s Luluwa, Kuba, and Hemba chiefdoms. Each of these is the tHe exHibition is MAde possibLe in pArt by tHe focus of a section of the exhibition. Andrew w. MeLLon foundAtion, tHe ceiL & MicHAeL Since 1998, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has organized a e. puLitzer foundAtion, inc. And tHe nAtionAL series of special exhibitions that have examined the African art endowMent for tHe Arts. corpus in relation to major themes important to its understanding and appreciation. In “Masterhand: Individuality and Creativ- ity Among Yoruba Sculptors” (1998), issues of authorship were addressed through a series of works attributed to different work- shops. The artistic process underlying various sculptural genres from their commissioning by a patron through various phases of execution was examined. Ultimately the array of distinctive tal- amiliarity with inspirational leaders from Africa is ents that have been responsible for shaping Yoruba sculpture over largely limited to those who came to international the last century was evoked through their creations as well as the prominence for their contemporary accomplish- praise poems that paid tribute to the achievements of individual ments, such as Nelson Mandela, or as heroic figures, authors and reflected their standing in Yoruba society. “Art and like Kwame Nkrumah, engaged in struggles against Oracle: Spirit Voices of Africa” (2000) explored the many com- European colonialism. Our inability to name and plex systems of divination developed to further quests for divine envision specific African leaders from earlier times is an accident insight into the human condition across sub-Saharan Africa and Fof history. Prior to colonialism, regional histories were transmit- the integral role played by works of art at various stages. Cre- ted orally from one generation to the next. Such traditions are by ations central to twenty-eight distinct systems included the definition continually evolving representations narrated by indi- instruments deployed by ritual specialists as well as those pre- viduals who provide accounts of the past as they are handed down scribed to their clients. “Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Cen- and modified in light of their contemporary perspective. Related tral African Reliquary” (2007/8) assembled works relating to sculptural genres developed within many of these contexts, giving reliquary ensembles from fourteen distinct cultural traditions concrete and enduring form to some of the protagonists of those concentrated in the equatorial region extending from southern accounts. “Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures” Cameroon through Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of

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af_50-65.indd 50 11/14/2011 11:09:05 AM 1 Head of an oba Edo peoples; Court of Benin, Nigeria; 16th century Brass; 23.5cm x 21.9cm x 22.9cm (9¼" x 8½" x 9") The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.86) PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

depictions of the ten obas who led the Kingdom of Benin from the early fifteenth to the mid-sixteenth century share an emphasis on the full, rounded volume of the face defined with precision, delicately framed with relatively simple beaded regalia that includes a rolled collar worn low on the neck and a latticework crown that covers the forehead and from which lateral strands are suspended around both ears. Although the head was conceived as the fount of individual character, given the degree to which each leader was idealized to emphasize his youthful vigor and underscore dynastic continuity, it is impossible to identify the subject on a purely formal basis once they were removed from their original altars without documentation.

2 The oba of Benin [Eweka ii, r. 1914–1933] Nigeria; early 20th century Postcard; 8.9cm x 14 cm (3½" x 5½") Holly W. Ross Postcard Collection PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through a range of different aesthetic approaches the sculptural elements of each of these evoked the founders of an entire lineage as vital ancestral intermediaries. These in turn were the visual focal point of assemblages of sacred relics drawn from the corporeal being of the most important lineage members. “Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures” (2011) expands upon the foundation of these earlier presentations to redress the popular misconception that figurative representations by precolonial African artists were invariably concerned with generic subjects. In this exhibition that notion is dispelled through foregrounding a series of case studies in which notable individuals served as the point of departure for major artistic creations. “Heroic Africans” opens by noting that understanding of these traditions has been greatly circumscribed as a result of the political and social disruptions wrought by colonialism. In many communities, fragile oral traditions ceased to be transmitted generationally and were not documented in written form. Their sculptural corollaries were physically dislocated from the ephemeral narratives that conveyed the specifics of their subject matter and scattered to collections remote from their original contexts. In some instances traditions were gradually replaced over the course of the century with new modes of expression, such as photography, while in others their abandonment was

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af_50-65.indd 51 11/14/2011 11:10:24 AM more abrupt. This disjunction is underscored at the entrance through the juxtaposition of a cast brass commemorative head created to be positioned on an altar dedicated to a ruler of the Kingdom of Benin during the sixteenth century and a selection of early photographic portraits of named African leaders (Figs. 1–2). The first photographs of African leaders were taken by European visitors to the continent during the second half of the nineteenth century. These images, along with their written commentaries, reflect Western biases that have indelibly shaped popular perceptions of the region. Many of those African subjects recognized the potential of this new medium to extend their stature and harnessed it to define their own desired image. By the 1870s, African photographers launched careers operat- ing studios along the coast and their clientele included kings and chiefs. Beginning in 1898, the novel and exotic character of photographic portraits by European and African photographers led to their reproduction as postcards disseminated interna- tionally by European publishers. It is poignant to consider that the unprecedented changes which ushered in such new modes of representation also contributed to the general demise of the sculptural traditions examined in “Heroic Africans.” That artistic heritage paid tribute to precolonial African leaders through regional vernaculars. Conceived to enshrine the essence of those individuals in sculpture, in most instances they remain the only direct evidence of influential individual lives that are not otherwise recorded for posterity.

3 Portrait of octavian Roman, late Augustan; 5–15 ce Marble ; 41.6cm x 22.8cm x 23.6cm (16¼" x 9" x 9¼") Private collection PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

The Roman emperor Augustus defined himself through sponsorship of a new portrait type informed by Classical proportions and ageless beauty. This readily recognized official likeness of him as a vigorous leader, fresh-faced and youthful, with a sharply chiseled nose, prominent cheekbones, thin lips, and a signature hairstyle marked by a distinctive parted fringe, was disseminated across the empire throughout his lifetime.

4 Head of an oba Edo peoples; Court of Benin, Nigeria; 17th century Brass; 26cm x 18.3cm x 21.1cm (10¼" x 7" x 8¼") laura and James J. Ross Collection, New York PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

The style of heads created to commemorate Benin’s rulers from the sixteenth through the early eighteenth century, a timeframe spanning eleven different reigns, reflect a sharpening of formal elements, more elaborate regalia, and heavier castings. The face is confined to a rectangular aperture that is tightly circumscribed by boldly defined beaded regalia on all four sides. Within that panel, the planes of the slightly convex cheeks and other facial features are rendered schematically. from the lower lip to the base of the sculpture, the beaded collar defines the overarching form as a cylindrical structure composed of a series of individually defined rings.

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af_50-65.indd 52 11/14/2011 11:11:27 AM 5 Head ensHrining greAtness: Yoruba peoples; ife, Nigeria; 12th–15th century tHe kingdoM of benin And beyond Terracotta, with residue of red pigment and traces of mica; 26.7cm x 14.6cm x 18.7cm (10½ x 5¾ x 7¼") Ὁ βίος βραχύς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρή Kimbell Art Museum, fort Worth, Texas (AP 1994.04) Life is short, art endures PHoTo: © KiMBEll ART MuSEuM, foRT WoRTH, TExAS / —Hippocrates (460–400 bce) Aphorisms, Sect. I, I ART RESouRCE, N.Y

Representations in terracotta and cast metals Artists throughout history have risen to the challenge of from ife are striking for the degree of detailed portraying notable persons through sculptural creations that elaboration accorded to the head (ori), which the would outlive their ephemeral subjects. Although the fame of Yoruba consider to be the site of an individual’s essential nature (iwa), as well as his or her life an individual may be lost through the vicissitudes of history, force (ase). These qualities that inform character such artistic tributes were conceived as enduring monuments and the impetus to action are the focus of elabo- to his or her life. The first section of “Heroic Africans” notes rate rituals in which one strives for fulfillment and transcendence from the time of birth. that this was the impetus for the creation of a selection of works from the Metropolitan’s permanent collection. Those that com- 6 Head memorate several generations of the Kingdom of Benin’s lead- Yoruba peoples; ife, Nigeria; 12th–15th century Terracotta; H. 29.4cm (11½”) ership including Idia, mother to Oba Esigie (r. early sixteenth The Kronos Collections century), Oba Akenzua I (r. ca. 1715–35), and the Ezomo Ehe- PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoli- nua are positioned in dialogue with comparative ones from TAN MuSEuM of ART ancient Egypt and Rome to consider how artists from differ- According to some oral traditions, ife’s first ruler ent traditions developed their own visual idioms for captur- oduduwa established the Yoruba model of divine ing lasting impressions of remarkable individuals. Faced with kingship. oduduwa’s sons and daughters were set into the world from ife to found the major the loss of a revered life, a commemorative work may in some city-states of the Yoruba, each equipped with a measure redress the enormity of the resulting absence with a beaded crown, or ade, as an emblem of divine power and authority. Such beaded crowns, like tangible and lasting presence. The very physicality of sculptural the one depicted in great detail here, are con- representations ideally allows them to serve not merely as evo- ceived of as a divine force that is conferred upon cations of a given human subject but as surrogates. a ruler (oba) at his installation.

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af_50-65.indd 53 11/14/2011 11:11:49 AM 7 Memorial head Akan peoples; Kwahu traditional area, ghana; 19th– 20th century Terracotta; 50.8cm x 27.9cm x 17.8cm (20" x 11" x 7") drs. daniel and Marian Malcolm PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

Kwahu artists favored a dramatic abstraction of the head that is consistently rendered as a highly two-dimensional disk with facial features added in relief. The sculptural emphasis on a broad, expansive forehead references the efforts of Akan mothers to shape the heads of infants through massage. At the summit the head is angled so that the face gazes upward.

8 Memorial head of Nana Attabra Akan peoples; Aowin traditional area, Nkwanta, ghana; 18th century Terracotta; 25cm x 14.5cm (9¾" x 5¾") Musée dapper, Paris (2802) PHoTo: HugHES duBoiS © ARCHivES MuSéE dAPPER

The female leader Nana Attabra lived in western ghana at the end of the eighteenth century and was allied in marriage to the Aowin chief Ano Assima. Nana Attabra is said to have commissioned her own likeness from a female Anyi artist. Positioned at the center of a shrine at the site of Nkwanta, that work was surrounded by a series of depictions of members of her courtly entourage. A priestess was charged with annually washing the figures, making offerings of libations, and directing prayers to their attention. The pronounced neck rings reference fat wrabbles, signs of bodily wellbeing.

Rather than create a literal likeness, such sculptural traditions invariably idealize their subjects through privileging some essential aspect of their identity. Positioned strategically in the community, such creations were at once conceived to keep history alive and inspire emulation. This is the case for marble sculptural busts of political leaders disseminated across imperial Rome as well as cast brass heads commissioned as the focal points of royal ancestral altars at the palace in Benin City. The degree to which many such representations from earlier times have become unmoored from their original locales and dedicatory associations as decontextualized and fragmentary artifacts determines how challenging it is to reconnect them to their original subjects. From the time he consolidated his claim to power until the end of his life, the Roman emperor Augustus promulgated a standardized image of himself as a youthful and vigorous leader that was based upon Classical ideals of beauty (Fig. 3). That official likeness was adopted as a model for depictions of his successors, who sought to underscore their affiliation. In parallel, close adherence to an artistic prototype developed by a dynamic and charismatic leader at the Court of Benin underscored ideas of generational continuity. According to archaeological evidence and oral tradition, Benin was a flourishing state by the thirteenth century. In the fourteenth century, the rise of Benin’s Oranmi- yan dynasty led its members to identify themselves with a tradition of idealized sculptural representations that were the focal points of royal shrines dedicated to individual members of the dynasty following their death. Positioned upon altars within the

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af_50-65.indd 54 11/14/2011 11:12:10 AM 9 Memorial head Akan peoples; Twifo-Heman traditional area, ghana; 17th–mid-19th century Terracotta, kaolin, roots, quartz fragments; 20.3cm x 14.3cm x 12.7cm (8" x 5½" x 5") The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collec- tion, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller gift, 1967 (1978.412.563) PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

The faces of the representations created by Twifo artists are striking for their serene, meditative expressions. The eyes, most often closed, are invariably depicted as rounded projections bisected by a bold horizontal demarcation between the lids. The egglike form of the head resonates with Akan associations with continuity, rebirth, and regeneration. The principle details added to depart from this template are individualized facial markings and coiffures.

10 Memorial head Akan peoples; Twifo-Heman traditional area, ghana; 17th century Terracotta; 22.4cm x 12cm (8¾" x 4¾") Musée dapper, Paris (5326) PHoTo: HugHES duBoiS © ARCHivES MuSéE dAPPER

palace in Benin City, these freestanding cast brass heads served as the sites through which a monarch invoked his predecessors’ ongoing engagement (Fig. 4). Oral histories credit Oba Ewuare (r. mid-fifteenh century) with commissioning the prototype for this genre that portrayed him for the ages in the prime of youth. While certain formal elements of this genre were adjusted over time, the degree of idealization was such that, once isolated from their original altars, it is impossible to identify the specific subjects of particular works. Whether in imperial Rome or the Court of Benin, depictions of leaders were conceived as no mere literal depictions but rather as tributes that improved upon real- ity and were worthy of enshrining their subjects for eternity.

visuAL poeMs in prAise of An ever-present pAst: ife terrAcottAs

To die is to become deified; no one venerates a living person. —Yoruba proverb

A second section of the exhibition considers a series of ancient terracotta sculptures created at Ife that are striking for their naturalism. The site of Ile-Ife in present-day southwestern Nigeria was occupied as early as 350 bce. Between 500 and 900 ce, the city was home to ironworking agriculturalists, and by the elev- enth century it had become a major metropolis defined by an orderly arrangement of city walls, streets, stone monuments, shrines, and planned building complexes with multiple interior

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af_50-65.indd 55 11/14/2011 11:13:52 AM 11 Commemorative figure of a chief Bamileke peoples; Bangwa chiefdom, grassfields region, Cameroon; 19th century Wood; 96.5cm x 33cm x 29.2cm (38" x 13" x 11½") Clyman Collection PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

This work has been attributed to a Bangwa master sometimes referred to as the Master of the Berlin Tanyi. His depictions of seated chiefs hold forth cala- bash palm wine vessels in their right hands with the base of the gourd balanced on their thigh. The contours of their elongated bodies are gently rounded and their features delicately articulated.

12 Commemorative figure of a priestess Bamileke peoples; Bangwa chiefdom, grassfields region, Cameroon; 19th century Wood, pigments; H. 85cm (33½") Musée dapper, Paris (3343) PHoTo: HugHES duBoiS © ARCHivES MuSéE dAPPER

The unrestrained dynamism of this tribute to an influential female member of a Bangwa chief’s entourage is riveting from every vantage point. With head raised, knees bent, and weight supported by her right leg, she appears suspended in motion. Her right hand grasps a rattle and she wears a grooved headdress, collar, bracelets, and anklets. When this work was collected as early as 1897 by a german colonial agent, its subject was recorded as that of a njuindem, or “woman of god,” a woman who had borne twins and was thus designated a priestess of the earth.

states of the Yoruba, each equipped with a beaded crown, or ade, as an emblem of divine power and authority. The fact that a critical mass of Ife works that survive feature elaborate crowns suggests that a focus of their subject matter was Ife’s leadership (Figs. 5–6). The original impetus for Ife’s extensive fired clay corpus remains an enigma. Such courtyards, elaborately decorated stone pavements, and altars. works have been buried, unburied, and reburied repeatedly since In that setting generations of artists produced works of terra- the time of their creation, so that their original significance has cotta, cast metal, and stone. The refined modeling of these works been difficult to distinguish from more recent layers of ritual attests to their makers’ mastery of highly detailed representa- appropriation. During the early twentieth century, Ife antiquities tions. To this day, Ife resonates powerfully as a uniting point of were documented as centerpieces of active shrines that served reference for peoples of Yoruba heritage despite the diversity of as the nexus for engagement between divinities and their devo- their affiliations with highly competitive rival urban centers. tees. Sculptures commissioned for placement on Yoruba altars in Oral tradition identifies Ile-Ife as the nexus where life was set the recent past have depicted the devotees of a particular deity in motion by the Creator, Olodumare. According to some ver- captured in a state of communion with that force. This subject sions, the shaping of humanity from clay was delegated to the of the fusion of human follower and divinity may also inform artist divinity Obatala. In others, this role and that of Ile-Ife’s the extant corpus of ancient terracotta representations. Formally first ruler, who established the Yoruba model of divine kingship, these suggest subtly calibrated efforts to capture nuanced quali- were assumed by Oduduwa, whose sons and daughters were ties of a spectrum of carefully studied subjects that are ultimately then sent out into the world from Ife to found the major city- tempered by a transcendent idealization.

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af_50-65.indd 56 11/14/2011 11:14:16 AM 13 Commemorative thrones of Chief Tufoyn and Queen Mother Naya laikom, Kom chiefdom, grassfields region, Camer- oon; mid-19th century Wood, copper; H. male: 190cm (74¾"), female: 185cm (72¾") Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (iii C 20681/82) PHoTo: © BildARCHiv PREuSSiSCHER KulTuRBESiTz / ART RESouRCE, NY

This royal pairing is striking for the nuanced naturalism of the fully defined rounded figures. The male subject is Tufoyn, Kom’s fifth fon (r. ca.1840–55) who is reputed to have been a carver. during the nineteenth century Kom flourished as a regional economic power situated on an active commercial axis. Tufoyn proactively pursued Kom’s expansion by driving out encroaching Kjem populations, initiating challenges to the boundaries of neighboring Bum, and mounting a defense against fulbe incursions. As nafon, Tufoyn’s mother Naya served as a trusted advisor ranking second only to her son at the court. At their respective bases Tufoyn’s seat features a pair of leopards and Naya’s buffalo heads. in his right hand Tufoyn holds a buffalo horn used both as a drinking cup and offering vessel. Naya grasps what may be an agricultural implement in both hands.

pAgeAntry And rituAL: tHe AkAn

When an elder dies it is as if a whole library had burned down. —West African proverb

As early as the seventeenth century Akan artists in many centers across present-day southern Ghana and southeastern Côte d’Ivoire, once known as the Gold Coast, fashioned com- the exposed works were vulnerable to removal. Once isolated memorative imagery of senior chiefs, priests, queen mothers, from their original shrines the deracinated artifacts became dis- and other notables in ordinary clay. These creations that paid associated from the local oral traditions relating to their original tribute to their leadership’s role as a vessel for the collective expe- subjects as well as the complex figurative tableau within which rience, wisdom, and memory of their people’s history is consid- they were once positioned. ered in another section of the exhibition. Artists from an array of far-flung Akan regional centers In Akan culture, the afterlife was conceived of as a paral- favored their own distinctive stylistic interpretations of this com- lel state of existence. Visual tributes to august individuals were memorative genre of hollowed terracotta sculptures. Formally, deposited at the site of a sacred resting place situated beyond the these range from schematic two-dimensional depictions favored confines of the village in which they resided in life. This act of by Kwahu artists to cylindrical works replete with a plethora of devotion was the central feature of a posthumous celebration details embraced by their Aowin counterparts (Figs. 7–8). These that paraded the works through the community and featured approaches universally emphasize the passage of the head gaz- music, dance, and offerings of sustenance. Given the accessibility ing heavenward. The artists’ stated ambition was to endow such of the outdoor groves in which they were ultimately implanted, creations with an incisive degree of accuracy relating the work to

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af_50-65.indd 57 11/14/2011 11:14:22 AM 15 Commemorative female figure Chokwe peoples; Angola; 19th century 16 figure of a leopard chief Wood, brass, human hair, red clay, seed, fine beads; luluwa peoples; Western Kasai, democratic Republic H. 59cm (23¼") of the Congo; 19th-early 20th century Ethnologisches Museum - Staatliche Museen zu Wood; H. 56.5cm (22¼") Berlin (iii C 1886) Collection laura and James J. Ross, New York 14 Commemorative figure of a chief PHoTo: © BildARCHiv PREuSSiSCHER KulTuRBESiTz / ART PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN Chokwe peoples; Angola; 19th century RESouRCE, N.Y MuSEuM of ART Wood; H. 38.1cm (15") Private collection This work depicts a chief’s youngest wife, or Professional luluwa sculptors created a distinctive PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN mukwakuhiko, discharging her duty by presenting corpus of male figures of their leaders as active MuSEuM of ART sustenance that she has prepared exclusively for her hunters and warriors. given that field documenta- spouse. This female presence is less a personifica- tion of many of these works indicates they had At the summit of this exceptionally graceful and tion of unfettered vitality than one of controlled proper names, it has been proposed that they refer lyrical chiefly depiction defined as a visual symphony elegance. Her engaging asymmetrical gesture to individuals. The exclusive prerogative of chiefs of curves is the soaring, domelike extension of an extends a lidded basket of cassava porridge (a who subscribed to bwanga bwa bukalenga, a cult elaborate ceremonial headdress. The figure’s slen- Chokwe staple) in the figure’s right hand while hold- dedicated to fortifying their authority, safeguarding der torso is laterally framed by massive arms and ing a platter of boiled meat aloft in her raised left the wellbeing of the people, and promoting ties with supported at the base by legs with a pronounced hand. The intense naturalism of her face is height- the ancestors, these depictions itemize attributes of bend at the knees and by especially broad, flat feet ened by inlaid brass eyes. She is further defined power belonging to their subjects in exacting detail. whose toes are individually articulated. The outsized by a plethora of delicate details, ranging from the These include items of regalia in the form of leopard scale of the bodily extremities expresses the idea filed teeth exposed by her open mouth, bodily pelt garments and commanding physiques embla- of tireless endurance and the ability to overcome cicatrizations, added jewelry, and exposed labia. A zoned with exuberant cicatrization designs. Potent, all obstacles. The expansiveness of these passages coiffure of real hair has been laboriously refined into mystically charged substances were inserted within contrasts with the precision and delicacy used to individual tresses matted with clay and arranged in the figures to instill confidence in those warriors who articulate the facial features. a caplike structure. carried them into battle.

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af_50-65.indd 58 11/14/2011 11:16:51 AM 17 Pwo mask Chokwe peoples; southern Kasai, democratic Republic of the Congo; 19th century Wood, fiber, pigments, metal, plastic, animal and plant material; 21cm x 18cm (8¼" x 7") The Royal Museum for Central Africa, Belgium (Eo.0.0.43143) PHoTo: R. ASSElBERgHS © CollECTioN RMCA TERvuREN

The lengths to which a Chokwe artist based his rendering of an archetype on a particular model is suggested by the striking oval configuration of the face and full, rounded contours of this especially naturalistic mask. The mask’s lifelike qualities are accentuated through the rendering of the ears as leather attachments. The dotted-cruciform motif, called cingelyengelye, on the forehead; the vertical marking, or kangongo, on the chin; and the parallel vertical lines, masoji, below the eyes on either cheek, while very subtle, are all highlighted through embedded metal elements. There are many varia- tions on cingelyengelye, which denotes divinity in Chokwe culture and was introduced to the region in the seventeenth century by the Portuguese.

its subject. Based on the visual record, however, the consistency among representations from the same center underscores the notion of kra, the essential spiritual dimension that transcends individual being and unites a specific leader’s soul with that of his or her collective ancestors (Figs. 9–10). Similarly the idea of sunsum, a spiritual continuum across beings of successive gen- the fon, who served as his people’s leading territorial, civil, and erations, is expressed throughout the Akan terracotta corpus. military authority. Today the heirs to these precolonial titles are Given the association of the clay medium with female spe- integrated into a network of federal governance. Another section cialists in both Akan and Yoruba society, it appears that women of the exhibition examines celebrated works created during the were the primary authors of their respective fired clay sculptural nineteenth century to immortalize a series of Grassfields leaders. traditions. Accounts of the creation of Akan heads suggest that Historically, exacting measures were prescribed to honor a the artist, selected by the family, studied the subject in repeated deceased fon and secure his continued favorable engagement with sittings during his or her lifetime. The intimate nature of the the affairs of his people. At the same time his heir was physically connection between the work and the individual evoked could and spiritually fortified to effectively take on the office. The -inter be further heightened through the addition of items, taken from twining of these priorities was critical to the successful transfer of the bodies of family members, through an aperture in the back power from one individual to another. This is reflected in the fact of the hollowed figurative vessel. that during rites of ascension, the very life force or essence and sacred attributes of the departed fon are transmitted to his suc- dAncing figures And effigy tHrones: cessor. The investiture culminates with the dressing of the new grAssfieLd cHiefdoMs leader in his predecessor’s vestments. Once he grasps the former fon’s regalia in his hands and is positioned on the inherited seat of Here is the stone where your fathers’ family have sat before they office, he becomes the individual he has replaced. were called to the throne, and it is on this very stone that you sit Within the Grassfields both Bamileke and Bangwa chiefdoms to-day[;] you are therefore king. May Yoruban [God] bless you …. in the west and the Kom kingdom of the Northwest Province May Yoruban grant you many children and may your war-spear have been renowned for the development of distinctive sculp- be mighty and your work strong. May Yoruban give you much and tural genres that powerfully evoke past leaders. Among the good advice increase your wealth; … Yoruban accepts you as king Bangwa, freestanding figurative sculptures referred to aslefem, of the Bamum. depicting royal ancestors in seated or active stances, physically —Njoya (cited in Jeffreys 1950) documented a particular reign within a line of dynastic suc- cession (Fig. 11). Lefem were treated as persons and conceived Across Cameroon’s densely populated highlands region, to be imbued with the character of their subjects. Beyond his known as the Grassfields, leaders of extended families, villages, own commemorative depiction, a chief might additionally and chiefdoms serve as intermediaries with venerated ancestors elect to commission ones of favorite royal wives and prin- on behalf of their constituents. Until the twentieth century, the cesses (Fig. 12). At Kom, ambitious effigy thrones that synthe- region was governed by a series of some 150 parallel monarchic sized majestic, life-size figurative representations of a specific polities. At the epicenter of each of these was a king or chief, fon and key female relations with seats of office were the state’s

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af_50-65.indd 59 11/14/2011 11:17:16 AM most esteemed possessions (Fig. 13). Never used as functional 18 Ndop figure: Mbó Mbóósh, Mishé miShyááng máMbúl, or Kot áNce thrones, they were the primary focal point of installation rites Kuba peoples; western Kasai region, democratic at which their presence was essential to the legitimate trans- Republic of the Congo; ca. 1760–1780 fer of a fon’s title. On those infrequent occasions when Bangwa Wood (Crossopterix febrifuga), camwood powder; 49.5cm x 19.4cm x 21.9cm (19½" x 7½" x 8½") lefem or Kom “sculptures of the palace” were removed from the Brooklyn Museum, New York, purchased with funds shrines in which they were safeguarded to mark the inaugura- given by Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, Mrs. don- tion of a new ruler or the annual blessing of the community, ald M. oenslager, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Blum, and the Mrs. florence A. Blum fund (61.33) their presence allowed past leaders to at once witness and par- PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN ticipate in the ongoing life of their people. MuSEuM of ART

The scholarship on Kuba sculpture has proposed of Hunter princes And cHerisHed MAidens: three different rulers as the subject of this figure. tHe cHokwe And LuLuwA The earliest among these, Mbó Mbóósh (r. ca. 1650) was admired by his peers for his corpulent physique and distinguished himself as a great warrior credited Ilunga came where Lueji was, and she invited him to sit by her with conclusively defeating challenges from both side … Lueji, surrounded by her female attendants … heard the within and without. By the end of his forty-year tenure, the Kuba kingdom had reached its zenith. story of Ilunga. How he intended to leave his land for ever, and Alternatively, the work may depict one of his two here he showed them the chimbuia axe, symbol of his status, which successors Mishé miShyááng máMbúl (r. ca. 1710), was passed round and much admired. or Kot áNće (r. ca. 1740). The signature ibol emblem at the base of the throne is a ceremonial drum that —Lunda Epic features a hand motif.

19 Ndop figure: Mikó miMbúl or Mbop Mábíínc This love story of the alliance between a foreign hunter máMbúl prince, Cibinda Ilunga, and Queen Lueji that led to the found- Kuba peoples; western Kasai region, democratic ing of the Lunda dynasty was widely diffused as a cultural ideal Republic of the Congo; ca. 1905 Wood, metal; H. 55cm (21½") of leadership among peoples of present-day Angola and Zam- The Royal Museum for Central Africa, Belgium, gift bia. The avatar of advanced hunting techniques that allowed of the friends of The Museum, 1924 (Eo 0.0.27655) him to tame the natural world, the larger-than-life culture hero PHoTo: R. ASSElBERgHS © CollECTioN RMCA TERvuREN

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af_50-65.indd 60 11/14/2011 11:18:26 AM 20 Commemorative figure Hemba peoples, Niembo group; democratic Republic of the Congo; 19th–20th century Wood; 94.6cm x 24.1cm x 24.1cm (37¼" x 9½" x 9½") Private collection, los Angeles PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

impressive for its considerable scale, this tranquil senti- nel-like figure is recorded to be Kalala lea, a celebrated ancestral leader of the Kitunga clan from a village north of Mbulula. The passage of the head is especially striking for its spherical form.

Cibinda Ilunga personified qualities with which regional lead- manding works of male leaders and influential female members ers sought to be closely identified politically and artistically. of their entourage, created by the region’s most talented sculptors The translation of that legacy into visual tributes by Chokwe during the first half of the nineteenth century, emphasize their and Luluwa sculptors is the focus of another section of the subjects’ dynamism as men and women of action (Figs. 14–15). exhibition. The ideal embraced defines the body with finely carved anatomi- Concentrated in the forested territory situated at the watershed cal detail and a pronounced exaggeration of key passages of the of the Kasai, Kwango, Zambezi, and Kwanza Rivers of east-central hands, feet, and crowning headdress. Angola, the Chokwe mined that landscape through hunting, gath- As they advanced into their neighbors’ territories, their fire- ering wax and honey, and extracting rubber from vines and roots. power and assertiveness caused them to emerge as a formida- With the abolition of slavery in Angola in 1830, the Portuguese ble regional power. Chokwe migrants on the move carried their sought alternative exports and wax and ivory became the regional sculptural creations with them as precious insignia of status resources most in demand on the international market. This and ritual power from their place of origin. Contact and com- development positioned the Chokwe to become its major suppli- merce with the Chokwe during the second half of the nineteenth ers. Peerless hunters and skilled ironworkers, they had maintained century had a transformative impact on the Luluwa economy. an arsenal of stockpiled European firearms with which they wiped Skilled hunters in their own right who entered a lucrative part- out local elephant herds within five years. In search of new sources nership of supplying Chokwe middlemen, their participation in of supply, they ventured north, east, and west of their homelands. regional trade networks led to the emergence of social distinc- In some instances, they entered arrangements to hunt in the ter- tions between elites and commoners. They adopted elements of ritories of neighbors, such as the Lunda, in exchange for a division Chokwe culture including a parallel tradition of figurative sculp- of the spoils. In others, they took on the role of middlemen within ture customized with their own distinctive attributes (Fig. 16). the regional trade networks. As the autonomy of Chokwe and Luluwa chiefs diminished due Chokwe leaders underwent investiture rites that afforded to European colonization during the middle of the nineteenth them influence over the lucrative resources of the land and the century, sculptors channeled their efforts into translating the expansion of their populace. A chief’s identification with his pre- familiar faces of family members into mask forms representing cursors was reinforced and intensified through his ownership more enduring ideals (Fig. 17). of carved images that contained their essence. Physically com-

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af_50-65.indd 61 11/14/2011 11:19:59 AM tHe goLden Age of sHyááM And beyond: tHe kubA a host of innovative developments, including the introduction of a tradition of official royal likenesses ca. 1650. Five of these When they look at this statue they will be able to remember me are assembled for only the second time since they left the Kuba and think I am looking at them, consoling them when they are sad, court as the focus of another section of the exhibition. Histori- giving them inspiration and new courage. ans have also proposed that the tradition may in fact have been —Attributed to Shyáám áMbúl áNgoong, as told by Kwete instituted in the mid-eighteenth century as part of a program of Peshanga Kena [Kot áPe] to Emil Torday in 1908 (Torday 1925) reforms to dilute ethnic divisions within the kingdom. Although, when seen individually, ndop figures appear natural- Kuba oral histories recall the migration of their eighteen con- istic, viewed as a corpus their homogeneity makes it apparent that stituent ethnic groups to the western Kasai region of what is now they are in fact official images expunged of idiosyncratic physi- central Democratic Republic of the Congo by 1568. There they ognomic details in favor of an ideal. According to the formula were united within a paramount chieftaincy during the seven- adhered to, each subject appears as a corpulent leader of regal teenth century and a new political dynasty came to be embodied bearing and still composure seated with legs crossed on a dais by the larger-than-life culture hero Shyáám áMbúl áNgoong (r. (Figs. 18–19). The figure’s left hand grasps the handle of a ceremo- ca. 1630). From this time forward its capital of Nsheng became a nial knife and the right hand rests on the right knee. Proportional vibrant center of architecture, decorative arts, textiles, and sculp- emphasis is focused on the head, which features a facial expres- ture renowned for the rich exploitation of abstract design. Oral sion of eyes closed in intense reflection. The rounded volumet- histories characterize Shyáám as the creative spark that ignited ric bodily contours are severely framed at the summit and base by

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af_50-65.indd 62 11/14/2011 11:23:29 AM (opposite, l–r) 21 Commemorative figure Hemba peoples, Niembo group; Mbulula region, democratic Republic of the Congo; 19th–early 20th century Wood; 67.9cm x 20cm (26¾" x 7¾") Private collection PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

The social stature of the subjects of Hemba ancestral sculpture was fleshed out through exacting depictions of several key elements. Principal among these was an elaborate, highly labor- intensive arrangement of hair that took as many as two full days to construct. Among the variety of regionally preferred styles worn by individuals of elevated rank along the banks of the lukuga River was the cross-shaped design featured here.

22 Commemorative figure Buli Master, possibly Ngongo ya Chintu (Hemba, ca. 1810–70), democratic Republic of the Congo; 19th century Wood; 30.5cm x 10.2cm x 11.4cm (12" x 4" x 4½") Private collection PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

As many as twenty-nine works commissioned by Hemba and neighboring luba chiefs as well as early European visitors to the region have been attributed to the hand of the Buli Master and several followers spanning three successive generations. Accord- ing to researchers, this visionary sculptor, remembered by the honorific Ngongo ya Chintu, or “the great leopard, the father of sculpted things,” lived in the village of Kateba between 1810 and 1870. Collected at Bugana Kalenga in 1970, this figure is among the half dozen works traced to the original master’s hand. its unusually petite scale is complemented by the delicacy of its features.

(this page) 23 Commemorative figure Hemba peoples; Kaboja village, Makutano region, democratic Republic of the Congo; 19th–20th century Wood, fibers; 74cm x 24cm (29" x 9½") Private collection, Brussels PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

This massively rotund figure is distinctive for the pronounced curves of its convex stomach, which extends outward in a knob- like navel, and powerful buttocks. The pensive head is joined to the exuberant body by a powerful neck. The unusual degree of asymmetry in the stance apparent through a slight raising of the figure’s left side of the shoulder blades and buttocks suggests movement.

the rectilinear lines of a visorlike headdress and raised rectilinear subLiMe cHiefs And tHe persistence of MeMory: base. A customized visual sign embedded at the front of the base tHe HeMbA invests the work with the identity of a particular ruler within the otherwise symmetrical continuum of reigns. We ask of you our ancestors and spirits good health and fertility. Beginning with Shyáám, Kuba nyim came to be considered as Of you, Kibikelo and Kalume, Mbivu and Kabenja, and Kivilile, God’s “lieutenants on Earth.” Following his installation, a new we ask of you today to give us many children so that we may have nyim announced his choice of a praise name, geometric pattern, much bounty, assure that our eyes continue to see clearly. We ask and a signature visual emblem known as a ibol as identifying sym- that the children progress in the world, that they be in good health bols of his reign. He subsequently commissioned the officialndop and visionary. This is our prayer today. sculpture that would serve as a surrogate for his person. During —Prayer to the ancestors and their spirits by a Nkuvu notable his lifetime, a nyim’s ndop served as his spirit double, and follow- living in Sola ing death it was the site for his life force. Paradoxically, this genre was designed to make manifest the essence of each potentate’s The departed to whom such prayers were addressed remained being while deliberately obfuscating differences across representa- omnipresent in Hemba communities through majestic sculp- tions of his peers through adherence to an established visual lexi- tural creations. Housed within darkened ancestral mausoleums con. Consequently each Kuba leader’s ndop is a parallel variation prominently positioned in front of the chief’s residence, these on a highly unified visual theme, not unlike the rich exploitation artistic landmarks were inspired by past leaders of communi- of pure abstract pattern that is a signature of Kuba aesthetics. ties situated across the vast grass plains extending from the east

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af_50-65.indd 63 11/14/2011 11:23:42 AM 25 Commemorative figure Hemba peoples, Muhiya group; democratic Republic of the Congo; 19th–early 20th century Wood, fiber; 64cm x 19.5cm (25" x 7¾") Private collection PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

A Hemba chief was considered at once the repre- sentative of the ancestors from whom he derived his political power and the guardian of his community. Petitions by Hemba chiefs on behalf of their communities were made at the site of the sculptures of lineal ancestors. Evidence of these spoken prayers for intervention is apparent through their surface patinas of sacrificial libations that survive intact on this example.

bank of the Upper Congo River north and south of one of its tributaries, the Luika. While inaccessible to most members of the community, their physical prominence suggests that the primary audience intended for these sublime artistic achievements was an otherworldly one. At the core of the “Heroic Ancestors” installation is a critical mass of the works that comprise this impressive corpus presented together for the first time. A great tree known as muvela was planted at the center of every Hemba village to evoke the collective presence of familial ancestors. Its wood was drawn upon by Hemba sculptors to create the artistic landmarks within which the spirit of the found- ing member of a familial segment might be drawn. Lusingiti did not literally reproduce their subjects’ physiognomies but rather evoked them through an ideal of physical strength and judicious reflection. The proper name of each of these was relayed through word of mouth. In Hemba society, sight was privileged as the principal means for acquiring knowledge. Kinship ties that lonial leaders relating to nine regional styles assembled here bound together members of a community were also of excep- constitute the first opportunity to directly assess their artistic tional importance. Accordingly the formal conventions adopted excellence (Figs. 20–25, cover). by artists emphasized the passages of the head and torso within which the features of the eyes and umbilicus were focal points. enduring MArkers of greAtness An extended family’s collection of lusingiti embodied its kinship system. Its ownership by a chief established the legitimacy The character of a face does not depend on its various propor- of his ties to a particular territory. His stewardship further pro- tions but rather on a spiritual light that it reflects. It is true that vided the possibility of direct engagement with the most influ- two drawings of the same face can portray the same character even ential figures from the distant past that might be petitioned though the proportions of the faces may differ. through prayers and sacrifices to alleviate the effects of calami- —Henri Matisse, Jazz (1947) ties such as drought or to request support for undertakings such as hunting expeditions or acts of war. Ultimately they provided Thus a great Modern master who was among the earliest in the aspirational exemplars for living leaders to consult and emulate. West to appreciate African sculpture reflected on the universal Beginning in 1917 with the regroupment of Hemba villages by artistic desire to reach beyond the literal likeness of an individ- Belgian authorities and the appointment of new nonhereditary ual to capture and render some intangible essence of its being. leaders, the fabric of Hemba communities began to unravel. The Although Matisse admired the formal dynamism and concep- nature of leadership was irrevocably transformed by a new secu- tual nature of African sculptural representations, their original lar patronage imposed from the outside. By the second half of contexts and cultural significance addressed in this exhibition the twentieth century, the social and political changes wrought were unknown to him. Ultimately the Ife, Benin, Akan, Kom, by colonialism led to the gradual obsolescence of lusingiti in Bangwa, Chokwe, Luluwa, Kuba, and Hemba authors of the Hemba communities. The twenty-two works depicting preco- works considered in this exhibition shared Matisse’s desire to

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af_50-65.indd 64 11/14/2011 11:25:25 AM 25 Commemorative figure Hemba peoples, Niembo group; Sayi region, democratic Republic of the Congo; 19th–early 20th century Wood; H. 70cm (27½") Private collection PHoTo: © THE PHoTogRAPH STudio, THE METRoPoliTAN MuSEuM of ART

The perfect verticality of Hemba figures is at once commanding and supremely stable. The dominance of this axis is further amplified by the bilateral sym- metry that endows the figures with a sense of immo- bility and timelessness. A gesture of open palms at the level of the navel constitutes an expressive departure.

underscored in culturally specific ways the exceptional prowess and beneficence of their leaders in a youthfully vigorous state. Artists made adjustments to this model in subsequent creations, subtly relating it to additional human subjects. As a result, each of the genres considered is informed by an intentional parallel- ism across works. They thus contributed essentially to the reifi- cation of their leadership’s heroic stature for the ages and their membership within a continuum of role models to be emulated. Individuals, now long forgotten, were the point of departure that inspired many of these great sculptural achievements from Africa. Although in most cases their identities have not been recorded in written histories, the existence of this artistic record attests to the place of distinction they commanded within their own societies. Not only do they survive as enduring artistic landmarks of cultures that have undergone extensive transformation, but they also afford us an appreciation of how the most gifted capture a profound insight into their individual subjects in their artists from those traditions channeled their talents into trans- own visual terms. lating some fundamental quality of their ambitious patrons into The extensive and highly diverse sculptural forms produced a vision of lasting perfection. by Benin’s professional casters and carvers in durable media provide us with a portrait of its leadership, going back half a millen- Alisa LaGamma has undertaken research in Gabon, Mali, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Botswana and taught in the nium, that is unparalleled in sub-Saharan Africa. These works art history departments at Rutgers, the University of Pennsylvania, and of art, like their corollaries in parallel centers, were created as Columbia University and NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. As curator of Afri- physical extensions of great leaders. The focus of prayers for can art the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dr. LaGamma, has organized intercession and veneration, they further played a pivotal role numerous special exhibitions and authored their accompanying publica- in keeping alive more ephemeral oral accounts of dynastic his- tions including The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without tories. They figured centrally within elaborate rituals developed End (2008), Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary in particular sub-Saharan African centers to mark the passing of (2007); Echoing Images: Couples in African Sculpture (2004), Genesis: a leader and the induction of another as a seamless continuum. Ideas of Origins in African Sculpture (2002), Art and Oracle: Spirit The inheritance of such heirlooms secured the transfer of power Voices of Africa (2000), and Master Hand: Individuality and Creativity Among Yoruba Sculptors (1997). [email protected] across reigns and their possession attested to the wellbeing and stability of the state. Whether positioned on an altar or within a treasury, such References cited works were crucial to personifying a people’s past and maintain- Jeffreys, M.D.W. 1950. “The Bamum Coronation Ceremony as Described by King ing a vital connection with revered and especially influential Njoya.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 20 (1):38–45. protagonists. In each instance a visual response to framing such Torday, E[mil]. 1925. On the Trail of the Bushongo: An Account of a Remarkable and notable subjects according to agreed-on social and cultural ide- Hitherto Unknown African People, Their Origin, Art, High Social and Political Orga- nization and Culture, Derived from the Author’s Personal Experience Amongst Them. als was embraced as a prototype to be replicated. Their aesthetics Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company.

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