Accession Number2016/1.241
TitleFemale Figure
Artist(s)Sierra LeoneanArtist NationalitySierra LeoneanObject Creation Date15th -17th centuryMedium & SupportsoapstoneDimensions 4 3/4 in x 2 1/2 in x 2 3/4 in (12.07 cm x 6.35 cm x 6.99 cm)
Credit LineGift of Leah and John AtwaterSubject matterCalled "nomoli" in Mende, these soapstone figures date to between the 15th and 17th centuries. Scholars attribute the figures to the Sapi, as they were called by Portuguese traders in what is today Sierra Leone. Based on historical documents and current practices of the Temne, Baga, and Bullom, lingusitic descendants of the Sapi, the figures may have been carved to commemorate elite men and women or ancestors. Although these figures are no longer made, they have been found and repurposed by Mende, Temne, and Bullom peoples.
References Cited:
Lamp, Frederick J. 1983. "House of Stones: Memorial Art of Fifteenth-Century Sierra Leone" in
The Art Bulletin, Vol. 65 No. 2.
Levenson, Jay A. (ed). 2007.
Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th & 17th Centuries. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Physical DescriptionCrouching or seated female figure with an elongated face that tilts backwards. The figure is holding her breasts and has a distended stomach and deep navel.
Primary Object Classification Sculpture Primary Object TypefigureCollection AreaAfricanRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Keywords
ancestors
commemorative sculpture
rulers (people)