Female Figure

Culture: Baga artist
Date: early 20th century
Material: Wood
associated with: Boké region, Guinea, Africa
Classification: Sculpture
Collection: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Current Location: On View, Gallery 117
Dimensions: 11 x 3 x 3 in. (27.9 x 7.6 x 7.6 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of The May Department Stores Company
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 19:1966

NOTES

The serene gaze and offertory gesture of this figure symbolize the power of female leaders in a Baga secret society known as Mënda. This woman kneels calmly, balancing on a wooden bowl that would have contained food or kola nuts, a sign of hospitality. She wears a necklace of decorative beads in front, and leather pouches containing Islamic amulets at back, which suggest the balance of secular and spiritual power. Bangles, earrings, and her elegantly styled hair indicate her high status.

Provenance

- 1966
The May Department Stores Company, St. Louis, MO, USA

1966 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by The May Department Stores Company [1]

Notes:
[1] A letter dated January 28, 1966 from Charles E. Buckley, director of the City Art Museum, to Morton D. May acknowledges the gift of this object as part of a larger donation [Director's Office, Donor Correspondence, Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and Associate Members of the Board of the City Art Museum, January 27, 1966.

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