Head Post for Performance (Female Head)
Date20th century
Label TextHeads that honor ideal women were carried into Kuyu rituals on sticks that enabled them to rise above all other spectators and watch over the proceedings. Distinctive features identify the face as Kuyu—filed teeth, broad lips, sliver eyes and scarification across the forehead that replicates bands of cowrie shells. Surrounding the face are geometric accents that intensify the look of this female overseer.
Object number2014.30.2
Provenance[Papa Alle Gueye, Paris]; acquired in exchange from Mr. Gueye by Mark Groudine and Cynthia Putnam, Seattle, May 2013
Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann
Credit LineGift of Mark Groudine and Cynthia Putnam
Dimensions22 x 4 1/2 x 4 in. (55.9 x 11.4 x 10.2 cm)
MediumWood
Democratic Republic of the Congo
early 20th century
Object number: 2014.30.1
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19th - 20th century
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early 20th century
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late 19th - early 20th century
Object number: 2018.18.5
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