A fine Eastern Pende Panya-Gombe African mask. Coll.: David Norden
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A fine Eastern Pende Panya-Gombe African mask. Coll.: David Norden |
Echoing Images: Couples in African Sculpture
February 10, 2004–September 5, 2004
The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, 1st floor
read also Couples in African Sculptures and general info on the Metropolitan 
Idealized pairings have been an enduring concern of sculptors in many
sub-Saharan African cultures. This exhibition examines the theme through
approximately 60 works of sculpture in wood, bronze, terracotta, and beadwork,
dating from the 12th to the 20th century. The examples are drawn from some 30
distinct African traditions, including those of the Dogon, Lobi, Baule, Senufo,
Yoruba, Chamba, Jukun, Chokwe, Hemba, Songye, Luba, Mangbetu, and Sakalava. The
astonishingly rich and diverse forms of expression considered have been selected
for their aesthetic attributes as well as their specific cultural significance.
The earliest works displayed are an array of seated male and female couples in
terracotta and bronze from the ancient urban center of Djenne-Jeno in
present-day Mali. These sculptures, likely dating from the 12th century, were
created to be placed on altars and carried as personal amulets. In later works
from the region, created between the 16th and 20th centuries by Dogon sculptors,
imagery of couples relates at once to Creation, productivity, and the
fundamental interdependence and complementarity of man and woman. The elemental
abstract graphic motif is a pervasive element of the iconography of Dogon
artifacts, ranging from freestanding sculpture created for ancestral altars to
carved granary doors and locks. Pair or Janus representations, as seen in many
of the traditions that are featured, reflect the object’s role in bridging
human and ancestral realms in order to elicit divine insights into the human
condition. Across central Africa, paired figures are an integral aspect of the
insignia of leaders that comments upon the divinely ordained nature of kingship. The exhibition is made possible by Friends of the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Read also the New York Times review about Couples in African Sculptures and general info on the Metropolitan Back to Museum news |
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