One of a Pair of Shrine Figures
<p>Open at the bottom and hollow within, this impressive figure [and its companion, 2005.238.1] is an essentially upside-down pot and was doubtlessly made by a potter. Figures such as this one have been described as protective and as representations of ancestors, and they may signify one of the many Vodun that come into being when an important person dies. Figures with the same tufted coiffure, but with squatter bodies, have been collected in southern Ghana and are said to have been brought there in the 1930s. Others come from the border between Togo and Republic of Benin. A male and female pair collected in Togo displays similar elongated bodies, flat, truncated arms and hands, and heavy-lidded expressions. [See also 2005.238.1].</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1875
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Dimensions
- 59 × 21.5 × 24 cm (23 1/4 × 8 1/2 × 9 1/2 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Ewe
Artist
Textile
Ewe or Togolese is a language spoken by approximately 5 million people in West Africa, mainly in Ghana and Togo. Ewe is part of a group of related languages commonly called the Gbe languages. The other major Gbe language is Fon, which is mainly spoken in Benin. Like many African languages, Ewe is tonal as well as a possible member of the Niger-Congo family.
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More by Ewe
Kente Wrapper
1925 · 20 strips of cotton, warp-stripe plain weave with supplementary brocading wefts and bands of weft-faced weave on warp groupings of four warps; pieced
One of Pair of Kente Wrappers
1925 · Pieced of 15 strips of cotton, warp striped plain weave with supplementary patterning and brocading wefts and self-patterned by bands of ground weft-floats
One of Pair of Kente Wrappers
1925 · Pieced of 12 strips of cotton, warp stripe plain weave with supplementary patterning and brocading wefts and self-patterned by bands of ground weft-floats
Woman's Kente Wrappers
1925 · .1: Pieced of 15 strips of cotton, warp striped plain weave with supplementary patterning and brocading wefts and self-patterned by bands of ground weft-floats .2: Pieced of 12 strips of cotton, warp striped plain weave with supplementary patterning and brocading wefts and self-patterned by bands of ground weft-floats
Shrine Vessel
1901 · Terracotta
Kente Wrapper
1900 · Cotton, 24 narrow woven strips with bands of warp-stripe plain weave with supplementary brocading wefts, and bands of weft-faced, warp-ribbed plain weave; joined; warp fringe
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Ewe
- Year
- 1875
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Dimensions
- 59 × 21.5 × 24 cm (23 1/4 × 8 1/2 × 9 1/2 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1875-139867
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified