H x W x D: 62.5 x 16.5 x 8.5 cm (24 5/8 x 6 1/2 x 3 3/8 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Liberia
Côte d'Ivoire
Date:
Late 19th to mid-20th century
Label Text:
The Wee and other neighboring peoples honor the woman who can feed her household and accommodate, with a generous hand, unexpected visitors, traveling musicians and seasonal farm workers. The emblem of her achievement is a specially carved ceremonial spoon that may be a generalized portrait of the owner. On special occasions she holds the spoon as she dances with attendants.
As in many African cultures, beauty is linked with moral values--in this case, hard work. The success of the woman also reflects the hard work and achievement of her husband, who supports her generosity.
Description:
Wood spoon with a handle in the form of a mask with slit eyes, a forehead ridge and metal teeth.
Exhibition History:
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection Highlights, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 21, 2009-June 4, 2014
African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2007-March 31, 2009
For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 16, 1968-January 5, 1969; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, August 31-November 1, 1970; University of Texas College of Fine Arts, Austin; City Art Museum, St. Louis, August 20-October 17, 1971; Des Moines Art Center; Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV
Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1967
Arts connus et arts méconnus de l'Afrique noire, Collection Paul Tishman, Musee de l'Homme, Paris, 1966
Published References:
Arts connus et arts méconnus de l'Afrique noire, Collection Paul Tishman. 1966. Paris: Musee de l'Homme, no. 53.
Balandier, Georges and Jacques Maquet (eds). 1968. Dictionnaire des Civilisations Africaines. Paris: Fernand Hazan, no. 120.
Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. 2008. ChowLine XII (6), p. 6.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen, Bryna Freyer and Andrea Nicolls. 2007. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 128-129, no. 33.
Muze'on Yisra'el. 1967. Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection. Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, no. 50.
Sieber, Roy and Arnold Rubin. 1968. Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, p. 56, no. 50.
Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 70-71, no. 33.
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