Figure (uli)
- Culture
- Madak artist
- Date
- before 1913
- Classification
- Sculpture, wood
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 106
- Dimensions
- 40 15/16 x 11 7/16 in. (104 x 29 cm)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 1526:1983
NOTES
The sculpturally developed chest and genitals of this figure represent the fertility of clan chiefs and an essential combination of masculine and feminine values. A community preciously guarded "uli" sculptures such as this and reused them over many ceremonies. Each uli figure was washed clean and repainted with each use in the context of funerary ceremonies emphasizing fertility. In these ceremonies the sculpture appeared as a single figure in an enclosure.
Provenance
1912
Kapitan Karl Nauer [1]
1914 - 1976
Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig, Germany [2]
1976 -
Everett Rassiga, New York, NY, USA, purchased from the Museum für Völkerkunde [3]
- 1977
Ancestral Arts (Charles W. Mack), Honolulu, HI
1977 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Ancestral Arts [4]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [5]
Notes:
[1] Collected by Kapitan Karl Nauer of the 'Sumatra' [from the registration record for Me 10895, from the Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig, Germany, as recorded in research notes by Michael Gunn, in SLAM document files].
[2] See Note [1].
[3] See Note [1].
[4] An invoice dated June 18, 1977 from Ancestral Arts to Morton D. May documents this purchase, listed as "New Ireland Uli." A note on this invoice stated Charles W. Mack was doing business as Ancestral Arts [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[5] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
Kapitan Karl Nauer [1]
1914 - 1976
Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig, Germany [2]
1976 -
Everett Rassiga, New York, NY, USA, purchased from the Museum für Völkerkunde [3]
- 1977
Ancestral Arts (Charles W. Mack), Honolulu, HI
1977 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Ancestral Arts [4]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [5]
Notes:
[1] Collected by Kapitan Karl Nauer of the 'Sumatra' [from the registration record for Me 10895, from the Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig, Germany, as recorded in research notes by Michael Gunn, in SLAM document files].
[2] See Note [1].
[3] See Note [1].
[4] An invoice dated June 18, 1977 from Ancestral Arts to Morton D. May documents this purchase, listed as "New Ireland Uli." A note on this invoice stated Charles W. Mack was doing business as Ancestral Arts [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[5] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.