Female figure with child

Object Details

Asante artist

Label Text

Since the Asante trace their lineage through their mothers, queen mothers hold a particularly important position within the royal hierarchy. The elevated status of this carved figure is bolstered by her ornate chair. Known as an asipim, its name means "I stand firm" and refers both to the chair's sturdy construction and to the stability of the ruler. The appearance of this queen mother, with a smooth high forehead and balanced features, is consistent with Asante ideals of beauty.

Description

Seated female figure with lobed coiffure, scarification marks on face and neck, elongated cylindrical torso and sandaled feet resting on a foot stool. She holds a nursing child on her left knee. The child is carved with articulated arms and is adorned with a strand of beads, joined with a metal ring, that is suspended around the neck. The darkened coloration of the figures stands in marked contrast to the light brown wood of the ornately carved high-back chair that is embellished with incised linear and circular patterns and with wood protuberances that are attached to the sides and slats of the chair with metal nails.

Provenance

Irwin and Marcia Hersey, New York, ca. 1970 to 1987

Mr. and Mrs. Arnold J. Alderman, New Haven, Connecticut, 1987 to 2001

Exhibition History

Pavilion: A New Look, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 9, 2019–ongoing

The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, April 15 to August 12, 2018

Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue - From the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, November 7, 2014-January 24, 2016

African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (deinstalled October 15, 2014)

African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2014

Life Objects: Rites of Passage in African Art, Princeton University Art Museum, September 19, 2009-January 24, 2010

BIG/small, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 17-July 23, 2006

Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 25, 1989-September 3, 1990

C.W. Post Art Gallery, New York, 1980

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 1978

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, 1978

The Arts of Ghana, Frederick S. Wright Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977

Ithaca College Museum, Ithaca, NY, 1969

Published References

Cole, Herbert M. 1989. Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa. Washington, D.C. and London: Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of African Art, pp. 16-17, no. 9.

Cole, Herbert M. and Doran H. Ross. 1977. The Arts of Ghana. Los Angeles: The Regents of the University of California, pp. 109-111, pl. XI.

Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 79, pl. 18.

National Museum of African Art. 2010. African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting. Exhibition card. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, no. 9 (detail).

Visoná, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poyner, Herbert M. Cole and Michael D. Harris. 2001. A History of Art in Africa. New York: Harry N. Abrams, p. 213, no. 7-24.

Visoná, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poyner and Herbert M. Cole. 2008. A History of Art in Africa. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, p. 213, no. 7-20.

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold J. Alderman

Late 19th to-mid 20th century

Object number

2001-22-1

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Figure

Medium

Wood, pigment, glass beads, fiber, nails

Dimensions

H x W x D: 56.5 x 15.7 x 24.5 cm (22 1/4 x 6 3/16 x 9 5/8 in.)

Geography

Ashanti Region, Ghana

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

On View

NMAfA, Pavilion Gallery

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Shrine/Altar

mother and child

furniture

male

Record ID

nmafa_2001-22-1

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7e533d7fc-8376-4c2a-9a95-e822b73aa710