  
  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&acirc;&#128;&#153;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&acirc;&#128;&#153;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 &Atilde;&#151; 3 &Atilde;&#151; 3 inches (43.2 &Atilde;&#151; 7.6 &Atilde;&#151; 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&acirc;&#128;&#153;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&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2007.163
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
