Cup

Object Details

Chopi artist

Label Text

Although the Chopi are known for their elegant carvings of headrests and staffs, their carved cups are rare. This example has a truncated conical body and a gracefully curved tripartite handle. There is an unornamented triangular crest opposite the handle. A Chopi artist designed this cup for utility more than for the elaboration of its surface.

Leaders and men of high status probably used cups of this type. Many African societies observe ritual libations that utilize cups and pots. Missionary Julian Rea, who collected a similar cup (now in the collection of the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts), indicated that it was used in a ceremony in which the chief poured out a sacrifice of beer. The Peabody's collection data notes that its cup was collected in 1937 in the area of Inhambane in southern Mozambique. This cup probably dates to the same period.

Description

Pedestal cup with a shield motif and three piece winged handle.

Provenance

Merton Simpson, New York, -- to 1990

Exhibition History

Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007

Published References

National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 173, no. 128.

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Museum purchase

Mid-20th century

Object number

90-7-1

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Wood

Dimensions

H x W: 15.2 x 15.2 cm (6 x 6 in.)

Geography

Mozambique

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

male

Record ID

nmafa_90-7-1

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7105c9552-32e9-4ca6-8b44-2c4566ebec25