Male Figure

ca. 12th–15th century

African Art

On view, 1st floor, African Art

Standing on a circular base and holding a staff in his right hand, this figure has a commanding presence, with oversized hands and exaggerated facial features that include large, round ears and bulging eyes. Because this work was likely looted and exported out of Mali through the international art trade, its original function is unknown.

Medium

Terracotta

Dimensions

15 3/4 × 6 5/8 × 6 7/8 in. (40 × 16.8 × 17.5 cm)

Credit Line

Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection

Accession Number

2006.51.111

Geography

Mali

Culture

Jenne-Jeno

Period

12th–15th century

Classification

Sculpture

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Wright Gallery (William Wright), New York, to December 3, 1987; Charles B. Benenson Collection Greenwich, Conn., 1987–2004; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • Bernard de Grunne, Djenné-Jeno: 1000 Years of Terracotta Statuary in Mali (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2014), fig. 236
  • Frederick John Lamp, Amanda Maples, and Laura M. Smalligan, Accumulating Histories: African Art from the Charles B. Benenson Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2012), 132, ill
  • "Acquisitions, July 1, 2005–June 30, 2006," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2006), 222
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

figures (representations)

Subject

men

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more

Linked Art

API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.