African Art
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Cultural Object
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Cultural Object
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Vessel with Figurative Lid

early to mid-20th century

Wood

9 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (22.86 x 11.43 x 11.43 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Osborn for the Linton Collection of African Art
1959.72.13
Carved and adorned ointment jars such as this were once used by Baule men and women as containers for shea butter, a cosmetic used for the body. Artists would have had a number of these on hand at all times, carved with precision and fine detail to advertise their skill. The serene face on the lid of this jar may demonstrate the artist’s experience in carving portrait masks.
Culture: 
Baule
Period: 
20th century
Classification: 
Containers - Wood
Geography: 
Made in Ivory Coast
Status: 
On view
Provenance: 

Leon Underwood unknown dates
J.J. Klejman Gallery unknown dates
Dr. Ralph Linton, Sterling Professor of Anthropology at Yale, unknown date–1953
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Osborn donated to Yale University Art Gallery for the Linton Collection of African Art in 1959

Bibliography: 

The Linton Collection of African Sculpture, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1954), no. 43.

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 such records is ongoing.