Male Equestrian Figure

between 1875 and 1910

Voania African, 1875 - 1928

On View

African, Level 1, North Wing

Male Equestrian Figure: 1 of Collection Gallery

Male Equestrian Figure: 2 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

The maker of this equestrian figure, a male Kongo chief named Voania, epitomizes the hybridization in African art following centuries of interactions with Europeans. In a departure from traditional gender roles, Voania took up pottery, a female profession in Kongo culture, to tap into the lucrative overland trade with Europeans. While he executed his vessels using traditional techniques, they lacked the practicality of Kongo pots, making them unappealing in the local market. Consequently, he focused exclusively on Westerners. His imagery of a suited European trader riding a horse or bull, a familiar figure of the European trade, would have appealed to his French and Belgian clientele. After learning to write, he inscribed his name (Voania) and village (Muba) on his pots, making them attractive as collectible art. Voania’s unconventional approach gained him a steady European patronage from the turn of the 1900s, a testament to his artistic vision and adaptability.

Title Male Equestrian Figure

Artwork Date between 1875 and 1910

Artist Voania

Life Dates 1875 - 1928

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. Woyo

Medium Terracotta

Dimensions Overall: 17 × 10 1/4 × 7 5/16 inches (43.2 × 26 × 18.6 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase with funds from the Friends of African and African American Art, the Arthur D. Coar Endowment Fund, Joseph H. Boyer Memorial Fund, and the Henry E. and Consuelo S. Wenger 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. 1994.47

Markings

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Provenance

Professor Robert Farris Thompson.
(Alan Brandt, Inc., New York, New York, USA);
1994-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

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We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Voania, Male Equestrian Figure, between 1875 and 1910, terracotta. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from the Friends of African and African American Art, the Arthur D. Coar Endowment Fund, et al., 1994.47.