| Mumuye iagalagana figures |
| Mumuye artists are famous for their wooden statues known as iagalagana. Until the 1970s most Mumuye sculpture was misattributed to their neighbors the Chamba. With no royal system, the Mumuye are organized by age classes and choose a village chief who is assisted by a council of elders. The vabong secret society regulates Mumuye religious life. Entry into the society is achieved through initiation ceremonies. The initiation of boys begins at the age of ten and takes place in a tsafi hut, where the statues are kept. Even though the Mumuye show great respect for the sculls of the ancestors, their statuary does not depict ancestors, but rather incarnates tutelary spirits. Yet, statues reinforce the status and prestige of their owner who, as he holds them in his hands, has a dialogue with them and thus ensures his personal protection. The functions of sculptural figures are varied. They were used by both diviners and healers, whose professions included diagnosis and cure of ill health and other kinds of misfortunes. The figures were used to greet rainmaker's clients, guard the house, serve as owner's confidant, and in trials when men in dispute swear on the statue, which they must kiss. Elders used them to reinforce their status in society. It was not unusual for a figure simultaneously to serve two or more functions. The size of statues varies from 20 centimeters to 1.6 meters. Mumuye figures are highly abstracted, perhaps in part because they invoke forms of human and supernatural authority. The statue may have added elements: beads, belts, bracelets, chains, leather laces, ropes or braided vegetable matter, brass wires, or cowrie shells. The statues’ principal characteristic, unique in African art, is the openwork between the body and the arms, which forms a scroll or a spiral around the slender, cylindrical bust. The legs are usually angular, and ribbon-like arms wrap around the torso with elbows clearly marked. The heads may display a coiffure in the form of a crest. Scarification on face and body is delineated and nasal septum may be perforated for the insertion of a short section of a stalk of Guinea corn. A number of such sculptures have large ears with pierced and distended earlobes for the insertion of plugs. The Mumuye distinguish the gender of the figures on the basis of the shape of the ears; only Mumuye women distend their earlobes. This may be the only clue to determining the gender of a figure in the older examples. Sources: Zyama.com |
| Mumuye iagalagana figure 42" tall Acquired from Tim and Bobbi Hamill, Hamill Gallery, Boston A really great figure in rarer facial style and very unique. This figure, like many other Mumuye figures, has a large protruding navel. The feature is a little more exaggerated on this figure than most, but the overall style and presence this figure exhibits is exceptional in my opinion. |
| Examples below are NOT in my collection, they are photos of various styles for reference purposes |
| AFRICAN AND OCEANIC ART DEC 2004 COLLECTION VEENA ET PETER SCHNELL, COLLECTION BAUDOUIN DE GRUNNE ET DIVERS AMATEURS LOT 108 f - BELLE STATUE, MUMUYE, NIGERIA [A FINE MUMUYE FIGURE, NIGERIA] estimate 30,000—45,000 EUR Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 30,000 EUR MEASUREMENTS haut. 78 cm alternate measurements 30 1/2 in DESCRIPTION Selon les canons esthétiques de la statuaire mumuye, le corps est droit, les volumes stylisés, les longs bras détachés du corps, tournant autour du torse longiligne, tête et en particulier jambes proportionnellement plus petits que le reste du corps. Elle se distingue par ses lignes très épurées, le torse traité en deux cônes inversés, le cou cylindrique bien séparé des épaules, la tête hémisphérique au visage plat animé en son centre par une large ligne verticale où se détachent successivement les volumes stylisés du nez, de la bouche et du menton, encadrée d'yeux ronds classiques, le creux de la gravure rehaussé de kaolin, deux simples scarifications verticales sur les joues. Patine noire, laissant apparaître la couleur brune du bois dense, à patine brillante, sur les parties sollicitées. (Rough translation: According to aesthetic guns' of the statuary mumuye, the body is right, stylized volumes, the long detached arms of the bodies, turning around the chest longiligne, head and in particular legs proportionally smaller than the remainder of the body. It is characterized by its very purified lines, the chest treated in two reversed cones, the cylindrical neck separate good of the shoulders, the hemispherical head with the flat face animated in its center by a broad vertical line where are detached successively volumes stylized from the nose, the mouth and the chin, framed traditional round eyes, the hollow of the kaolin engraving raised, two simple vertical scarifications on the cheeks. Black patina, letting appear the brown color of dense wood, with brilliant patina, on the requested parts.) Condition Note: Extrémité de l'oreille droite cassée, recollée. PROVENANCE Maria Wyss, Bâle, 1970 LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Catalogue de l'exposition Gesichter Afrikas, Luzern, 1972, chez le photographe suisse Ernst Winiski CATALOGUE NOTE Acquise en 1970, cette œuvre fait donc partie des premières statues mumuye parvenues en Occident. La statuaire mumuye - intervenant dans des rituels thérapeutiques, prophylactiques ou liés à la pluie - ne fut en effet découverte qu'en 1968, les rares exemplaires parvenus en Occident ayant été jusqu'alors attribués aux Chamba voisins; la première publication sur le thème date de 1970 (Fry: 1970, vol. X, fasc. 1). (Rough translation: Acquired in 1970, this statue forms part of the first statues mumuye arrived to Occident. The statuary mumuye - intervening in ritual therapeutic, prophylactic the or related ones to the rain - was indeed discovered only in 1968, the rare specimens arrived to Occident having been hitherto allotted to Chamba neighbors; the first publication on the topic goes back to 1970) |
| Mumuye figure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY |
| Sotheby's - Paris Art Africain et Océanien, African and Oceanic Sale Auction Date : Dec 5, 2003 Lot 128 : f - GRANDE STATUE, MUMUYE, NIGERIA Description DETAILED DESCRIPTION debout sur des jambes courtes et anguleuses. Les hanches cylindriques qui soutiennent un long torse surplombé d'épaules tout en rondeur et enveloppé de longs bras plats tournés vers l'intérieur, laissant voir des mains larges et stylisées. Le cou, à la fois puissant et long, supporte une tête presque abstraite montrant un visage resserré sur l'essentiel : 2 petits yeux ronds en creux, un nez court encadré par 3 grandes scarifications soulignées de kaolin au dessus d'une bouche esquissée. Cette tête est couverte d'une coiffure à crête centrale et encadrée de 2 grandes oreilles rectangulaires percées de larges orifices. Belle patine sur le bois noirci avec rehauts de kaolin. Condition Légers manques sur la coiffe, deux fentes sur l'épaule et le fessier. Dimensions haut. 93 cm Estimate:€ 25,000 - € 35,000 Price Realized: € 0 Provenance Vente Loudmer, 5 décembre, 1993 M. Dieter Scharf, Hambourg Galerie Entwistle, Londres Collection américaine |
| Skinner, Inc. - Bolton American Indian and Ethnographic Art Auction Date : May 11, 2002 Lot 67 : African Carved Wood Figure, Mumuye, Estimate:$ 400 - $ 600 Price Realized:$ 1,116 |
| Bonhams - London Tribal Art Auction Date : Jul 2, 2003 Lot 163 : A Mumuye Wood Figure, Iagalagana Description Carved with crescentic coiffure, with large circular eyes and dish shaped ears, the face incised with geometric scarifications, carved with typical rounded shoulders and hips with contrasting angular arms and legs, mounted, 90cm. Estimate:£ 500 - £ 700 Price Realized:£ 470 $ 855 |
| Sotheby's - New York African & Oceanic Art Auction Date : Nov 11, 2005 Lot 69 : A MUMUYE FIGURE Description PROPERTY FROM THE RAYMOND E. BRITT FAMILY COLLECTION measurements note height 16in. 41cm the angular legs supporting the slender torso with two central protrusions and framed by faceted arms beneath the head with circular eyes and wearing a multi-tiered coiffure; dark brown patina. Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 5,000 |
| Sotheby's - New York African & Oceanic Art Auction Date : Nov 11, 2005 Lot 67 : A MUMUYE FIGURE Description measurements note height 41in. 104.1cm standing on thick legs beneath the rounded hips and columnar torso framed by arms held to the sides, the slender neck supporting the disc-shaped head with expressive features and long, square ears; blackened patina with areas of red and white pigment. PROVENANCE Harry A. Franklin Family Collection, Beverly Hills Acquired from Sotheby's New York, April 21, 1966, lot 230 EXHIBITED Hanover, New Hampshire, The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Curator's Choice, January 2 - March 10, 1991 Estimate: $ 5,000 - $ 7,000 |
| Sotheby's - New York African & Oceanic Art Auction Date : Nov 11, 2005 Lot 66 : A MUMUYE FIGURE Description measurements note height 41in. 104.1cm the muscular legs supporting the slender, arched torso with a protruding navel and rounded chest leading to arms suspended at the sides, the small helmet-shaped head with large circular eyes and disc-like ears; varied dark brown patina with areas of kaolin. PROVENANCE Harry A. Franklin Family Collection, Beverly Hills Acquired from Sotheby's New York, April 21, 1990, lot 233 EXHIBITED Hanover, New Hampshire, The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Curator's Choice, January 2 - March 10, 1991 Estimate: $ 5,000 - $ 7,000 |
| Sotheby's - New York African & Oceanic Art Auction Date : Nov 11, 2005 Lot 65 : A FINE MUMUYE FIGURE Description PROPERTY FROM AN AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTION measurements note height 42 1/2 in. 108cm standing on wedge-shaped feet, the tapered hips supporting the slender torso framed by elongated bent arms held to the front beneath the small oval head with pursed lips, straight nose and wearing a crested coiffure pendant at the sides; fine deep brown patina. PROVENANCE The Harry A. Franklin Family Collection, Beverly Hills Acquired from Sotheby's New York, April 21, 1990, lot 232 EXHIBITED Hanover, New Hampshire, The Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, Curator's Choice, January 2, 1991 - March 10, 1991 NOTE The fine selection of three Mumuye works offered here were each formerly in the Harry A. Franklin Collection and acquired from Sotheby's New York in 1990 (lots 65, 66 and 67). The three figures demostrate the 'high degree of stylistic diversity which parallels the variety of functions of Mumuye figures: some were used as oracles, others in connection with healing and still others reinforced the status of important elders as embodiments of vaguely conceived tutelary spirits. At times, one figure acted in two or more of these capacities. A particular function cannot be correlated with size, style or other formal attributes' (Rubin in Vogel 1981: 155-158). Estimate: $ 15,000 - $ 25,000 |
| http://www.africarte.it/masterpieces/elenco.masterpieces/Mumuye/mumuye.htm Height 73 cm |
| Mumuye peoples, Nigeria 20th century Wood Height 114.5 cm (45 1/8 in.) Collection of Charles and Kent Davis Provenance Field collected, Charles Davis Charles and Kent Davis Photograph by Franko Khoury From the exhibition: Treasures - Aesthetic Discoveries/Visual Delights National Museum of African Art |
| Mumuye peoples, Nigeria 20th century Wood Height 99.1 cm (39 in.) Collection of Charles and Kent Davis Provenance Field collected, Charles Davis Charles and Kent Davis Photograph by Franko Khoury From the exhibition: Treasures - Aesthetic Discoveries/Visual Delights National Museum of African Art |
| Mumuye Wood H. 120 cm Tomkins Collection Mumuye figures were used in divination and healing rituals as well as house guardians. (Phillips 1995: 363) Provenance: Johann Levy, Paris, 2003 |
| Mumuye, Nigeria Wood, organic material; H. 99 cm (39 in.) 19th–20th century Fondation Beyeler, Riehen (Basel) From: Art and Oracle - Metropolitan Museum of Art Sculptors in Nigeria's Benue River valley have created a broad range of variations on the bold conception of the human form represented by this piece. Although the role such works originally played is undocumented, and therefore remains unclear, the primary one that has been attributed to them is as an oracle. Mumuye sculptural works, which range in scale from 20 to 160 centimeters, appear to have been deployed for a variety of needs, including divination, healing, and protection.1 According to Jan Strybol, figurative sculpture enhanced the influence and reputations of leaders and religious specialists in Mumuye society by furthering their efforts to predict the future, heal the sick, and make rain fall.2 Their interaction with these figurative implements is characterized as a dialogue prompted by physical handling. According to some accounts, applications of substances such as the juice of the gadele plant on the figure's face might serve as a catalyst for activating its power to communicate. When manipulated over the course of judicial trials, the figure may judge the veracity of testimony provided, and its heightened awareness enables it to identify criminals.3 In the dynamic figural abstraction shown here, the attenuated columnar form of the torso constitutes the dominant feature. Within its boundaries, a lyrical play of negative and positive space unfolds around the vertical axis framed and circumscribed by bodily appendages. At the top, the helmetlike head includes two prominent sagittal crests flanked by lateral extensions. The only facial feature given form here is the gaping orifice of the mouth. The smooth, polished surface of the torso is minimally articulated through finely rendered nipples and a boldly projecting conical navel carved in relief. The shoulders are represented as a continuous mass that extends down into long lateral arms, bent at the elbows; the forearms reach around toward the front, terminating in the abbreviated masses of the hands at the level of the pelvis. At this juncture, the lower body, consisting of a horizontal element that bridges blocky legs with accented knees, echoes the passages of the shoulders and the head. A sense of vitality and a suggestion of swaying motion are introduced into the design through subtle modulations of the bilateral symmetry. These include the slightly higher angle of the arm and shifting of weight on the figure's left side. This monumental sculpture is very closely related in form to one in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, attributed by Arnold Rubin on stylistic grounds to the regionally important carving center of Pantisawa.4 Although sculptors do not ordinarily enjoy positions of privilege in Mumuye society, the work of the best sculptors is held in sufficiently high regard that their reputations live on beyond their lifetime.5 Notes: 1. Arnold Rubin, entries for cat. nos. 91 and 92 in For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, ed. Susan M. Vogel, exh. cat. (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1981), p. 155. 2. Jan Strybol, "Les Mumuye," in Arts du Nigéria: Collection du Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie (Paris: Réunion des Musée Nationaux, 1997), p. 239. 3. Philip Fry, "Essai sur la statuaire Mumuye," Objets et Mondes 10, no. 1 (1970), p. 27. 4. Rubin, in For Spirits and Kings, p. 155. 5. Fry, "Essai," p. 27; Strybol, "Les Mumuye," p. 279 |
| Image above is the group of Mumuye figures that are on the cover of the book from my friends at Galerie Flak in Paris titled - MUMUYE It's a nice culture specific book on the Mumuye and surrounding people. |