Standing Male Figure

no date

Songye, African

On View

African: Channeling Powerful Forces, Level 1, North Wing

Standing Male Figure: 1 of Collection Gallery

Standing Male Figure: 2 of Collection Gallery

Standing Male Figure: 3 of Collection Gallery

Standing Male Figure: 4 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 protruding forehead, flat nose, and open rectangular mouth of this figure’s face identifies it as a Songye work. Although it has lost most of its original accouterments, it is still a nkisi, a “container” or repository for powerful medicine designed to serve a specific purpose. It probably once sported elements such as raffia fiber cloth and graveyard dirt and beads to infuse it with ancestral powers. Its remaining animal furs and horns, visible around the waist and head, would have endowed it with the traits of those creatures. Assorted charms in the mouth and navel would have enhanced its protective capabilities. Considering its monumentality, it was probably used communally, witnessing conflict resolutions, agreements, and healing rituals and launching spiritual attacks against adversaries. The pair of holes on the outer sides of the thighs were for iron brackets to safely transport it without directly touching it, suggesting it was once a highly charged ritual object.

Title Standing Male Figure

Artwork Date no date

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. Songye

Medium Wood, fiber, and hair

Dimensions Overall (figure): 54 5/8 × 11 3/4 × 11 1/4 inches (138.7 × 29.8 × 28.6 cm) Including base: 56 1/8 × 13 1/2 × 11 3/4 inches (142.6 × 34.3 × 29.8 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Eleanor Clay Ford Fund for African Art, New Endowment Fund, Friends of African and African American Art Fund, Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund, funds from L. & R. Entwistle and Company, Dennis and Leslie Rogers, Matilda Wilson Fund, Abraham Borman Family Fund, Mary Martin Semmes 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. 1995.69.A

Markings

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Provenance

(Tambaran Gallery, New York, New York, USA)

1995-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

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.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Published References

Please note: This section is empty

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

Suggest Feedback

Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Songye, African, Standing Male Figure, no date, wood, fiber, and hair. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Eleanor Clay Ford Fund for African Art, New Endowment Fund, et al., 1995.69.A.