Female Figure

early 20th century

African Art

On view, 1st floor, African Art

This Vai female figure is one of the largest in existence. Such figures depict a newly initiated woman at her “coming out” ceremony, in which she would be presented to her people. The young woman at this event would have been nude or wearing a loincloth and would have been lavishly decorated with strands of beads and other adornments, including European shoes. Her body would have been rubbed with oil to make it brilliantly black, and the sculpture has received the same treatment. Scarification marks on the figure's lower back are a sign of refinement.

Medium

Wood, seed, and string

Dimensions

unconfirmed: 36 1/4 × 10 × 10 in. (92 × 25.4 × 25.4 cm)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Class of 1913, Fund

Accession Number

2011.51.1

Geography

Liberia

Culture

Vaï

Period

20th 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
Charles E. Mitchell, U.S. Minister to Liberia, and his wife Elizabeth Mitchell, collected between 1931–1933 in Liberia; Charles E. Mitchell Memorial Collection in the library of the Mwalimu school, Harlem, NY, 1930s. Possibly Manet Harrison Fowler; possibly Manet Helen Fowler. Marc Assayag, Montreal, about 2008–2009; Chris Wild, Normandy; David Norden, Belgium, to 2011;Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • "Acquisitions," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: Online Supplement (accessed March 1, 2012), 7, ill
Object copyright
Copyright Undetermined
Additional information

Object/Work type

figures (representations)

Subject

African American artists women

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

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