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Male Figure
Bamum
20th century, 1950–2000
Object Place: Cameroon
Medium/Technique
Wood, burlap, beads, shells, string, encrustation
Dimensions
Overall: 65 x 18.5 x 16 cm (25 9/16 x 7 5/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
Overall (on wood platform base): 3.5 x 19.7 x 23.5 cm (1 3/8 x 7 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.)
Overall (on wood platform base): 3.5 x 19.7 x 23.5 cm (1 3/8 x 7 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2701
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsSculpture
The Bamum of the Cameroon Grasslands have a rich tradition of courtly art. Royal prestige and wealth was directly related to the richness of the visual display s in the king's palace. Rulers would call upon artists to make masks, textiles, sculptures, and stools and noble status would be rewarded to artists that were particularly well-liked by the king. This seated male figure may have been a piece of the royal treasury, or at least inspired by the heavily beaded sculptures that were particularly popular amongst Bamum royals.
Provenance1970s, sold by an unidentified African merchant, Cambridge, MA, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)