Twin Statuette (Flanitokele)

19th-20th century

A Bamana twin statuette (flanitokole, literally, 'the double who remains') evidences a form of ideal standing. Elaborate coiffure alludes to life lived well, for such a crest could be made only through the cooperation of others, sympathetic sisters or co-wives. There is great subtlety to the gentle bending of her knees, creating the slightest modulation to the uprightness of her noble posture. Against that axis, buttocks and breast form strong assertions of vitality. She lends, in turn, an ordering, vital posture to the world.

Wood and metal

19 x 3 3/4 x 2 1/2 in. (48.3 x 9.5 x 6.4 cm)

Overall h.: 19 3/16 in.

Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

81.17.27

Provenance: Acquired by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, in Bamako, Mali, 1969; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., pp. 49-50, reproduced pl. 53 (as standing female figure).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 26-27, reproduced pl. 3.

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