Ancestor Figure

19th century

Baule, African

On View

African, Level 1, North Wing

Ancestor Figure: 1 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

The Baule people of West Africa dedicated standing wooden figures such as this one to the memory of ancestors. Although they are considered portraits, certain idealized physical attributes are standard, such as hands affixed tightly to the sides of the stomach, distinctive facial and neck scars, a finely made coiffure, and a beard. Here, the artist aimed for naturalism in the oversized head, emphasizing facial features like arched eyebrows, bulging eyes, nose, and mouth to reinforce the ancestor’s individuality.

This figure is one of the best-documented Baule sculptures in museum collections. In 1910, the French Administrator of the Ivory Coast colony, Joseph Cornet, received it and five other works as a peace offering from the Salefoue king of Abengourou, following the king’s surrender to French forces. Though the sculpture previously had a place on a royal ancestral altar, its gloss may have developed in Western hands.

Title Ancestor Figure

Artwork Date 19th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Baule

Medium Wood and pigment

Dimensions Overall: 17 × 3 × 3 inches (43.2 × 7.6 × 7.6 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2007.163

Markings

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Provenance

Salefoue king;
1910, gifted to Joseph Cornet.
Victoria Bandeira (Lisbon);
1960, purchased by Maurice Ratton;
1963, purchased by Henri Plester (Bottrop, Germnay).
after 1973, acquried by Charles Lucido (Monaco).
1999, René and Denise David;
2001, by inheritence to Jean David (Galerie Walu, Zurich, Switzerland);
2001, purchased by Phillip Nelson (Detroit, Michigan, USA);
2006, purchased by (Galerie Walu, Zurich, Switzerland);
2007-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Quarcoopome, Nii. “Akan Wood Sculpture.” Bulletin of the DIA 91, no. 1/4 (2017): p. 103 (fig. 5.26).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Baule, African, Ancestor Figure, 19th century, wood and pigment. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, 2007.163.