↗Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Nok-culture style region, unknown female ceramicist · thermoluminescence date 20–620 CE
Head
Creator not recorded
James Albert Ford Memorial Fund · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗
Africa, West Africa, Mali, Bamana blacksmith · late 1800s–early 1900s
Head of a Hobbyhorse (korèdugaso)
Creator not recorded by the museum
- Date
- late 1800s–early 1900s
- Medium
- Wood and iron
- Dimensions
- Overall: 14 x 13.8 x 40.8 cm (5 1/2 x 5 7/16 x 16 1/16 in.)
- Country / context
- Mali
- Movement / tradition
- Sub-Saharan African arts
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Pathway
- Sub-Saharan African arts ↗
FROM THE MUSEUM
Pertaining to the male initiation society called Korè, this sculpture from the Koulikoro region represents the head of an aardvark and is part of a wooden hobbyhorse that is mounted by a ritual buffoon. The Korè initiates are divided into different classes, each having a designated mask. The ritual buffoons appear in pantomimes on different public occasions and poke fun at village authorities and other high-ranking individuals.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0A MOMENT TO LOOK
Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.Follow a connection.
Explore the tradition ↗↗
↗Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild · possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s
Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao)
Creator not recorded
↗Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Nupe-style pottery, unknown female potter · 1900s
Water Transport Jar
Creator not recorded
↗Ghana, Akan-style sculpture, unknown female ceramicist · late 1600s–early 1700s
Memorial head (nsodie)
Creator not recorded